Pass From Hell
by clairealuna
Summary: My name is Isabella Swan. My life used to be perfect, but one drunk driver changed everything. My mom is gone and my father blames me. Me? I'm just a 19 year old girl trying to survive nightly beatings from my father and who hides it from my best friend because I don't want to worry her. I'm just a girl that wants to get away and live my dreams.
1. Chapter 1

"Isabella Marie Swan, you get your ass down here-NOW!"

The yelling coming from downstairs only meant one thing-my father was home. He used to be my dad, in every sense of the word-but that all changed when my mother died. Now I know you are sitting there saying, 'That makes no sense. You can't be a father and not be a dad…they're the same thing.' Well, they aren't. There is a big difference. In one day he went from someone I could go to-someone I could trust, to the man who got my mother pregnant. He now saw me as a reminder of my mother and blamed me for her death. He didn't even come see me while I was in the hospital after the accident. As soon as I was released I became a human punching bag. I guess today wasn't going to be any different.

I walked down the stairs and I could already smell the stench of alcohol radiating from him. Perfect, he was drunk. It's always worse when he's drunk. Before I could even say anything I was being thrown onto the stairs.

"Where's my dinner? I thought I told you to have my dinner ready by 6:00"

"But daddy, it's only 5:15" I said as I stood up.

The only sound that was heard in the house was a sickening smack as he backhanded me sending me back to floor.

"NEVER back talk me again, EVER." He sneered as he kicked me in the ribs. "Now get up, fix my dinner, and then you're going to your new job" he continued. When I didn't get up he grabbed my arm and forced me up.

"What job?" SMACK. I really need to learn when to shut up.

"I got you a job so you can start pulling your weight around here. Especially since I got laid off today" Oh…so THAT is why he's extra angry tonight.

"But daddy, I'm meeting with Rosalie to record my demo" And I was immediately sent back to the stairs. Tonight's beating is going to leave a mark.

"What have I told you about that? You belong to me. I will not have you make a fool out of yourself because you THINK you have talent. You are useless as anything but something to look at. Besides, who would want their kids looking up to a murderer" he smirked. He gave me one last kick to the ribs for good measure. Yep, it's definitely going to leave a mark.  
-

I knew as soon as I saw the address what this new job was and I did NOT want to have any part in it. I also know that my father's friend owns the place, so he would know if I didn't go. I stepped out of my dad's car and when I walked through the door and was immediately met with the sight of half-naked women swinging around on poles. Any hope I had of my father ever becoming my dad again was gone. No dad would get their daughter a job as a stripper.

I began to feel sick to my stomach as my father's friend spotted me and started walking in my direction.

"Your costume is in the back. Go get changed and be ready to go onstage in 30 minutes. I'm only going to have you do one tonight since you're new." Billy said.

30 minutes? You have got to be kidding me. I just nodded my head in fear of being hit again and slowly walked backstage. I looked at the outfit in front of me and felt the bile rising up in my throat. My cell phone began to vibrate and I looked down to see my best friend's face looking up at me.

"Hello?" I whispered

"Where are you? I thought we were recording your demo tonight." Rosalie said.

"Listen, I don't have time to explain. I just need you to come pick me up at 134 Ave A, preferably quickly. They're expecting me to go onstage in 30 minutes and I have to be gone before then."

"Why are you at the strip club?"

"I promise I'll explain everything, just please come get me."

"I'm already on my way Bella"

"Thanks Ross"

I knew that waiting outside on the corner beside a strip club in the shady part of town was not the best idea, but I couldn't risk staying inside. When Rosalie finally pulled up, I looked at my watch to see that I had 10 minutes before they expected me onstage-meaning probably 5 before Billy realized I was gone.

"Explain. Now."

"Ross, drive…then I'll explain. And by drive, I mean drive FAST." I had to come up with how to tell my best friend that I was being used as my father's punching bag.  
-

"Bella, why didn't you tell me that he was doing that to you? I could have gotten you out sooner." Rosalie said as we dug into the chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream from her freezer.

"Ross, you couldn't have. He won't let me leave. I've tried to numerous times but it only made the beatings worse so I stopped trying."

"I don't understand why your father blames you for your mom's death, though. It was a car accident."

"I was driving, Ross"

"That makes no difference, and you know it. The drunk driver still would have hit you if your mom was driving. It is NOT your fault."

I just sat there and stared. I started to feel the familiar prickling sensation in my eyes and Rosalie wrapped her arms around me. That's when I noticed the pain in my ribs. Rosalie lifted up my shirt to reveal several bruises on my stomach and sides.

"You aren't going back there, Isabella. I won't allow it. He can't keep you from leaving; you're 19 years old for crying out loud."

"It will only get worse if I don't go back. It's already going to be bad because I didn't strip tonight."

"Well, stay here tonight and we'll finish up your ticket out of your hell-hole."

"What are you talking about, Rosalie?"

"Your demo, of course. We just have to record one more song and we can send it off. THAT is your ticket out of here."

"You really think I'll get signed somewhere?"

"No, Bella, I don't. I KNOW you will."

"Bella, get up! I'm hungry and we need to go mail your demo."

"Ok, I AM kind of hungry. Where do you want to go eat?" I asked her as I got out of bed. I was looking through Rosalie's closet when I realized that she wasn't answering. I turned around to find my best friend staring at me. "Ross? Hey, snap out of it!"

"Who are you and what have you done with my best friend? The Isabella I know didn't use to get up in the morning without a fight."

"Yeah, well, that was before my mom died. A fight with my father usually ends up badly, as you've seen. I learned rather quickly to not debate with him."

"Oh Bella, I still wish you had told me when it started but the important thing is that you're safe."

"For now" I mumbled.

"Huh?"

"Nothing, R-let's go eat" I said as I went to the desk to grab my demo. However, I wasn't just met with one envelope, but a pile. "Jeez, Ross, you think you made enough copies?"

"Well, I know we were only going to send it to one but after you told me about your dad I didn't think it was smart to risk that one company not signing you. I figured the more companies we sent it to, the greater chance you had of getting out of here."

"Oh, that makes sense. I guess we should go to the post office first then."

With that we set off to the post office. Once that was done we jumped back into the car and drove to our favorite diner. We were just about to leave when I saw him-standing outside by Rosalie's car staring at me.

"Rosalie…he's here" I whispered.

"What? Where?" She didn't see him, I knew she didn't. When I didn't answer she continued, "Well, let's leave then."

"We can't! He's by your car" I was starting to feel tears stinging my eyes. Rosalie immediately got her phone out and called her dad to come get us. She explained the situation to him while I just sat and stared at the table. I didn't even notice Rosalie hanging up the phone.

"My dad's on his way. He said to stay inside-your dad won't try anything here, it's too risky."

About 10 minutes later Rosalie's dad pulled into a parking place and came in to get us. When he saw us he immediately came over and gave us hugs.

"Are you guys ok? I didn't see him outside."

"Yeah, we're ok. We haven't seen him since I got off the phone with you" Rosalie replied. Good, maybe he left. We walked out of the diner and started to head towards the car. I was sandwiched between Rosalie and her dad and we were almost to the car when we saw him.

"Hey,Aro! It's been awhile. I didn't know you were here too. I just came to pick bella up-she called and said she didn't have her car." I tensed up at his forced niceness. Rosalie and her dad must have noticed because Rosalie linked her arm with mine and her dad put his hand on my back.

"Oh, well we're going back to the house to finish up Bella's demo" Aro answered, unfazed.

"Well I need her to come home with me, now. Let's go Bella" he said meanly as he grabbed my arm rather forcefully. Aro immediately put one arm in front of me and the other on my father's chest.

"You're not taking her anywhere, Charlie"

"You give me my daughter now or I'll charge you with kidnapping"

"No you won't; and besides, she's 19. She doesn't legally have to live with you anymore. So the way I see it, you have two choices. You can leave and leave Bella alone, or you can stay and have abuse and assault charges brought up against you".

Wow, Aro is my hero.

"Yeah, right" my father scoffed. "Who's going to believe a stupid 19 year old? You have no proof." At this I lifted up my shirt to reveal the bruises from the previous night. His smirked immediately faded.

"This isn't over, Bella-I WILL get you back" he sneered before walking away. I couldn't help it-I started crying. Aro pulled me into a hug and just let me cry.

"Shh, it's ok Bella-it's all going to be ok. You can stay with us as long as you want…you used to practically live with us anyway. It will be nice to have my second daughter around more." He had always thought of me as a daughter. I even used to call him dad.

"Thanks, dad" I softly smiled.

It felt good to say those words again without being afraid.

* * *

**I heard a great idea last night that gave me the idea for this story. I hope you like it!**


	2. Chapter 2

"Get up, Bella!"

"No, too early" I mumbled

"No, get up, pack your bags, and get happy-we have a flight to LA at 3 PM." Now THAT got my attention.

"Wait, WHAT?" I poked my head up from under the covers. Rosalie started laughing. When she didn't answer I continued. "Are you going to answer my question any time soon?"

"I'm sorry, it's just that your hair looks funny, and the way you sat up was just too funny. I wish I would have gotten it on tape" She managed to say after she had calmed down a little. I looked over in the mirror and I couldn't help but crack a smile. My hair is layered and naturally a bit wavy so sometimes in the morning the bottom layers are straight and the tops layers aren't….making for one funky hairdo.

"Yeah, yeah-now are you going to answer my question and explain why we are going to LA?" I asked her while trying to keep my patience.

"Yeah, about that, Eclipse Records just called and they said that they are interested in meeting you. My dad talked to them and he managed to make flight arrangements for the three of us to go to LA. So get packing!" She finished as she was throwing a suitcase at me.

"You're serious? They want to meet me? When?" So many questions were running through my head.

"Tonight…so pack!" With that she was out of the room to go pack her own belongings. I just sat there in shock for a minute. Could this actually be it? Could I actually be getting my dream, tonight?  
_

We touched down in LA at about 6 PM Central…so it was 4 PM in California. We were supposed to immediately go to Eclipse Records.

"Umm, how are we getting to the meeting?" I asked as we were collecting our luggage at baggage claim.

"Oh, the company said that they would send a car to pick us up, and that we should look for a sign with your name on it." Aro answered. Just then a sign that read "Isabella Swan" caught my eye.

"I think that's us…" I pointed to the sign and we began to walk over to the man. We followed him out to a SUV and got in.

I couldn't stop fidgeting as we drove to the building that would make or break my dreams. I was fascinated by what I saw of LA, but I just couldn't sit still-I was too nervous.

Rosalie put her hand on my arm and looked at me trying to calm me down. It worked a little bit, she always has been able to calm me down because she knows me so well. I was just starting to calm down when the driver announced that we had arrived.

We got out of the car one by one, and I stood in awe at the building before me. I wanted to go in so badly, but for some reason I just couldn't bring myself to move. I felt Rosalie's hand on my back pushing me forward and I threw a grateful smile her way.

When we walked in we were greeted by a pleasant looking lady at the front desk.

"Hi, I'm Isabella Swan…I had a meeting here at 4:45." I told her politely.

After hitting a few keys on her keyboard, she replied with "Oh, yes. Take the elevator up to the fifth floor, go down the hall to the eighth door on your right. They should be ready for you." She smiled at me.

"Thank you" I said quietly and we proceeded to the elevators.

As we walked down the hallway on the fifth floor, I couldn't help but get the feeling of impending doom. I just couldn't help but feel that this was all a waste of time and they were going to laugh in my face because I was horrible. Before I knew it we had arrived at the door-the one barrier lying between my dreams. I raised my hand and knocked on the door and before I knew it, the door flew open to reveal a man that appeared to be in his late 40s and standing next to him was none other than Edward Cullen.

"Hello, this is Edward and my name is Charlie-you must be Isabella!" He said as he stuck his arm out to shake my hand. I visibly tensed at the man's name and had to force myself to shake his hand. Honestly, are the gods against me or something? I turned to shake Edward's hand and found that he was giving me an odd look. Great, I guess he noticed me tense up at the man's name.

We all sat down around the table and the meeting began.

"Ok, we've listened to your demo several times, and I must say we like what we hear. Your voice has an emotional quality to it that gives it a raw and edgy feel that really causes the song to connect with the listener. Your writing abilities are quite amazing as well. To get to the point, we would love to have you join the Eclipse Records family."

I just sat and stared at the man. This was too good to be true, there HAD to be a catch.

"You may be wondering why Edward is here, but I'm going to let him explain that." He continued when I just stared at him.

"My brothers and I have heard your demo and we have pretty much the same feelings towards it as Charlie does." Again, I involuntarily flinched at the sound of the name. Edward again shot me a funny look as he continued "We were asked to take you on our next tour to gain exposure for you. The catch is, we need to have your album recorded by then. That way the tour can allow people to hear your music and see who you are before your album comes out. Our next tour is this summer, so that means we would only have about five months to get everything done. Do you think you're up to it?" He asked me.

"Um, yeah….I think I can do it. But I have one question…" I said

"What's that?" Charlie asked me.

"Can Rosalie come with me on the tour?" At this, Rosalie's eyes lit up.

"Of course, my dear" Charlie answered. At this I only had one thing left to say.

"Where do I sign

"Wow, I was not expecting it to go quite that fast" Rosalie said in shock as we were walking to the elevator. "Are we going to go look for an apartment? We need a place to live."

"We?" I questioned.

"Yes, we. Did you honestly think we were going to let you move out here alone? I'm moving here with you" She smiled.

"Really? I guess it's good…I was kind of scared about coming here alone."

"I figured you would be. Besides, I'd miss you too much if I didn't come-not to mention worry." She said as she gave me a hug.

"But there are so many apartments, where do we even start?" I asked no one in particular.

"Well, Charlie gave us a list of apartment complexes that are close to the studio and to the Cullen'-so I'd say we start there. We have to find one fast, Charlie wants you moved in by next week so you can get started on your album." Aro said as we walked out of the elevator. I tensed up again-and Rosalie noticed.

"You did it again!" She exclaimed.

"What are you talking about?"

"You tensed up just now and during the meeting you kept tensing up. What's going on? I'm pretty sure Edward kept giving you weird looks" Rosalie said as she stopped me from moving with her hand on my arm. I just looked at the ground and didn't say anything for a bit.

"Wait a minute, it's because the man's name was Charlie, isn't it" Aro asked me softly. I just nodded and Aro put his arm around me as we walked to the car.

"It's ok, Bella-you got away…you're safe" Aro said.

I just hope he's right. It just seems like everything is too good to be true.

A week later we had found a nice 2 bedroom apartment that was the perfect size for us. We were just finishing moving in and we were saying our goodbyes to Aro. When he got to me I was having trouble not crying.

"You take care of yourself, ok Bella? I want my girls to be safe. I also want many phone calls-I want to be kept up to date on everything. I'm so proud of you, Bella…and I love you so much."

"I love you too dad. I promise I'll keep you up to date on everything and you'll be getting a pair of tickets to the first show on the tour." I told him with tears in my eyes. "Thank you for everything."

He kissed my forehead, gave Rosalie another hug, and was out the door. I walked over to the couch and just curled up in a ball.

"Hey, what's wrong Bell?" Rosalie asked me.

"I don't know, Ro. It's just, I lost my mom, my dad went psycho, and now the closest thing I had to a father is out of my life. Now that I'm on my own I just have a really bad feeling that something bad is going to happen. My heart is already broken enough-I don't think it's possible for it to break anymore. I don't think I could take it if it did."

"I'm still here, and I'll ALWAYS be here. I'll even come on tour if you want me to."

"Really?"

"Are you kidding me? I'm so proud of you. There's nothing that could make me more proud than seeing you live your dreams." At that I just gave her a huge bear hug.

"Come on, let's go to bed…Edward is bringing Emmet and Jasper over tomorrow so you guys can get acquainted and maybe write some" Rosalie suggested.

At that we got up and headed to our rooms. That night I had some trouble sleeping because this one line started going through my head-'you can't break a broken heart'. I decided that I wasn't going to be able to sleep until I got it out, so I got out of bed, grabbed my guitar, and went to work.

The next morning I was completely exhausted. I slept through my alarm and didn't wake up until something jumped on my bed. I opened my eyes to see Rosalie and Edward looking at me and Emmet and Jasper standing in the door to my room.

"Isabella Marie Swan, if you do not get out of that bed this instant I WILL pull the covers off of you" Rosalie threatened.

"Ross, I don't think you really want to do that" I smirked. What did she do? Oh yes, she pulled the covers off of me and left me lying on my bed in boy short underwear and a sports bra. What can I say, it's hot in California. I didn't even make an effort to cover up because I had more on than I would at the beach.

Jasper and Emmet reacted as expected-Jasper blushed and Emmet kinked his eyebrow and smirked. Edward, however, just looked at me with a look that was a mix of confusion, curiosity, and a bit of anger. He couldn't seriously be mad at me for sleeping like that in my own bed, right? Just then I realized why he was looking at me like that-there were still traces of the bruises on my stomach from my last encounter with my dad.

Great, Just great. I rolled out of bed and began to get dressed. I didn't feel the need to kick the boys out since they had already seen me almost naked anyway. They all slowly left one by one. I heard my door shut and sighed, thinking I was alone.

"Are you going to tell me how the hell you got that many bruises on your stomach and back or am I going to have to guess?" Edward asked me.

I turned around to find him leaning on my door.

"It's a long story Edward, one that I don't really feel like telling you now and then having to repeat to your brothers later. Let's go in the other room and I'll explain, ok?" I started to walk to my door. When I reached to open it, I was greeted by quite possibly the best hug I've ever received, next to my mom's hugs of course. It should have been odd because I haven't known him that long, but it wasn't.

We walked out to the living room and I was met by looks from the other two boys that kind of made me think that they saw the bruise remnants as well.

"I'm guessing that you guys have questions that you want answers to, so ask away" I sighed.

"Why do you have so many bruises on your stomach and back?" Edward asked me again.

I took a deep breath before replying with "they're from my dad".

I heard all three guys gasp quietly, and Kevin was the only one that would talk. "I thought you had been living with Rosalie and her dad for the past month. That would mean-"

"They're from the last night I was at home….a month ago." I finished for him.

"You still have traces from a month ago?" Emmet asked, shocked.

"Listen, my mother died a few years ago and my dad still blames me. Ever since my mother died, he has used me as a human punching bag and I always would just kind of let it slide off because I used to blame myself too. The last night I was at home, I got the worst beating I have ever gotten from him, and then he took me to a strip club and told me that he had gotten me a job there. Of course I couldn't go through with it-I called Rosalie and I haven't been to my house except to get my stuff since."

To say the boys looked shocked would be an understatement. After a few minutes, Edward got up and pulled me into a hug. Rosalie soon joined, followed by Emmet and Jasper. After the love fest was done, Rosalie wanted to know why I had overslept.

"I couldn't sleep last night because I had a line stuck in my head. I figured I wouldn't be able to sleep until I fixed it, so I wrote a song. It took me the better part of the night, but I think I got a pretty good song out of it."

"Can we hear it?" Jasper asked, a little apprehensively. I just shrugged, walked to my room and came back holding my guitar. I sat down in the recliner and everyone else sat across from me on the couch-Joe sat on the arm. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and began to play without a word.

_Dry lightning cracks across the skies_  
_Those storm clouds gather in her eyes_  
_Her daddy was a mean old mister_  
_Mama was an angel in the ground_  
_The weather man called for a twister_  
_She prayed blow it down_

_There's not enough rain in Oklahoma_  
_To wash the sins out of that house_  
_There's not enough wind in Oklahoma_  
_To rip the nails out of the past_

_Shatter every window 'til it's all blown away,_  
_Every brick, every board, every slamming door blown away_  
_'Til there's nothing left standing, nothing left of yesterday_  
_Every tear-soaked whiskey memory blown away,_  
_Blown away_

_She heard those sirens screaming out_  
_Her daddy laid there passed out on the couch_  
_She locked herself in the cellar_  
_Listened to the screaming of the wind_  
_Some people call it taking shelter_  
_She called it sweet revenge_

_Shatter every window 'til it's all blown away,_  
_Every brick, every board, every slamming door blown away_  
_'Til there's nothing left standing, nothing left of yesterday_  
_Every tear-soaked whiskey memory blown away,_  
_Blown away_

_There's not enough rain in Oklahoma_  
_To wash the sins out of that house_  
_There's not enough wind in Oklahoma_  
_To rip the nails out of the past_

_Shatter every window 'til it's all blown away (blown away)_  
_Every brick, every board, every slamming door blown away (blown away)_  
_'Til there's nothing left standing, nothing left of yesterday (blown away)_  
_Every tear-soaked whiskey memory blown away,_

_Blown away, blown away, blown away, blown away, blown away_

The last chord hung in the air and I just looked at the floor-tears threatening to fall.

"Bella?" Rosalie finally said quietly. When I looked up I was met with a sight I would have never expected, well maybe from Rosalie, but not the boys. The guys had a look of shock on their face, and Edward looked like he had tears in his eyes. Rosalie got up and walked over to me with her tears already falling. As soon as she got to me, the damn broke loose and I started crying. I wasn't sobbing, but I was still crying-in front of the Cullens.

"I'm so sorry" I choked out before I ran out of the room, leaving my guitar behind. I ran into my room, not even stopping to shut the door, slid down my wall and buried my face in my knees. A minute or two later I felt a pair of strong arms go around my body and I didn't even need to look up to know it was Edward. He just sat there and held me.

"That song was beautiful, bella. You are beautiful and how anyone could do that to you blows my mind. I haven't even known you that long and you are already one of the strongest people I know." Edward whispered as he rubbed circles on my back.

That's the last thing I remember hearing before falling asleep in the arms of Edward Cullen.

* * *

Thank You For Review..

Who's ready for chapter 3? Let me know.. :)


	3. Good Time

When I woke up I was in my bed and I heard voices coming from the other room. I looked at my alarm clock to find that is said it was 1 PM. I'd been asleep for two hours. I heard my name come from the other room and decided to listen. I know, eavesdropping is wrong, but it's about me.

"I don't know, guys. This is the first time I've seen her cry about it in a month. Actually, come to think of it this is the first emotion I've seen her show about it except for fear." Rosalie said quietly.

"Wait, her dad's name wouldn't happen to be Charlie, would it?" Edward asked.

"Yeah, it is" She answered.

"Edward, how on earth could you have possibly known that?" Emmet sounded bewildered.

"In the office, when Charlie introduced himself-she tensed up and had to make herself shake his hand. And then when I was talking to her I said his name and she tensed up again." Edward replied.

"She did it in the elevator when we were leaving, too. I'm worried about her. Last night she said she has a bad feeling that something bad is going to happen because she's here. The last thing her dad said to her was that it wasn't over yet and that he'd get her back." Rosalie said with a hint of sadness in her voice.

"But she's 19, isn't she? How can he have any control over what she does?" Jasper asked.

"He doesn't, legally-just physically. I'm kind of worried that he's gonna show up here and try to pull something." She sounded scared.

"We have the best security in the business-I would trust Big Steve with my life. She'll be ok." Edward soothed her.

I couldn't take it anymore. I got out of bed and made my way into the living room.

"Hey guys! Sorry I conked out…I guess I'm still just tired from last night." I decided that acting like nothing happened would be the best bet.

"Are you ok?" Rosalie asked me.

"Ross, I'm fine"

"Ok, well I'm pretty sure I can speak for all of us when I say that the song you played was amazing. I think it definitely needs to be on the record. Do you have anything else?" Jasper asked me. You could totally tell he was trying to get the subject away from earlier.

I shot him a grateful look and answered "No, only the songs from my demo."

"Well, I guess we should get started on some new ones, shouldn't we" Edward said as he handed me a pad of paper and a pen.

"Actually, I have something I was thinking about, if you want to hear it. I came up with it earlier when you were-well, yeah" Rosalie said shyly.

"Sure, Ross. What is it?"

"It's only a few lines, really, but I'd love for you to use them if you like them."

"Ok, what are the lines?" I asked her.

" 'What if I told you your tears haven't been ignored? That everything that was taken can be restored?' " She said.

"That's really good, Ross-but I'm only going to use them if you agree to co-write it and sing it with me on the record." I grinned.

"WHAT?! I can't do that!" her eyes got as wide as saucers as she said that.

"Well, that's a shame. I guess those lyrics will just go to waste then" I winked at the guys.

"Fine, you win. I'll sing it, but I won't be happy about it" Rosalie huffed. She always has been afraid of singing in front of people-even though she has an incredible voice. It's about time she gets over that fear.

"Let's get writing it then!" Emmet exclaimed.

"Not so fast, Sparky. This one is all on Rosalie and me. We can write something else." I answered him.

"Do you have any other ideas that you've been trying to write on?" Edward asked me.

"Not really, but I need a fairly upbeat and happy song. A lot of the ones I have right now are slow." I answered.

"How would you feel about a duet? Maybe with us?" Jasper asked.

"I think that would be awesome!" I exclaimed. With that, we started writing.

Three hours and several sheets of paper later we had a duet song.

"So now the question is posed of who I will be singing this with." I said as I looked at the completed song.

"Well, I think Emmet would sound really good on it, but we can sing through it and see" Jasper said.

(**Bella **_Emmet __**Both**_)

**Whoa-oh-oh-oh**  
It's always a good time  
**Whoa-oh-oh-oh**  
It's always a good time

Woke up on the right side of the bed  
What's up with this Prince song inside my head?  
Hands up if you're down to get down tonight  
**_'Cause it's always a good time_**

Slept in all my clothes like I didn't care  
Hopped into a cab, take me anywhere  
I'm in if you're down to get down tonight  
'**_Cause it's always a good time_**

**Good morning and good night**  
** I'll wake up at twilight**  
**_It's gonna be alright_**  
**_ We don't even have to try_**  
**_ It's always a good time_**

**_Whoa-oh-oh-oh Whoa-oh-oh-oh_**  
**_ It's always a good time_**  
**_ Whoa-oh-oh-oh Whoa-oh-oh-oh_**  
**_ We don't even have to try, it's always a good time._**

**Freaked out, dropped my phone in the pool again**  
** Checked out of my room, hit the ATM**  
** Let's hang out if you're down to get down tonight**  
** 'Cause it's always a good time**

Good morning and good night  
**I'll wake up at twilight**  
**_It's gonna be alright_**  
We don't even have to try  
It's always a good time.

**_Whoa-oh-oh-oh Whoa-oh-oh-oh_**  
**_ It's always a good time_**  
**_ Whoa-oh-oh-oh Whoa-oh-oh-oh_**  
**_ We don't even have to try, it's always a good time._**

Doesn't matter when  
It's always a good time then  
**Doesn't matter where**  
** It's always a good time there**

Doesn't matter when,  
It's always a good time then

**_Whoa-oh-oh-oh Whoa-oh-oh-oh_**  
**_ It's always a good time_**  
**_ Whoa-oh-oh-oh Whoa-oh-oh-oh_**  
**_ We don't even have to try, it's always a good time._**

"I like it, I like it a lot." I said. Everyone agreed and the guys suggested that we go to their house to mess with different instruments for it. We all left the apartment, got in their ranger rover, and were off. We started driving and the music sounded really familiar…a little TOO familiar.

"Why is my demo in your CD player?" I laughed.

"Because it's good and I liked it" Emmet retorted. I couldn't help but blush a little at that.

A few minutes later we pulled up to their house and I was shocked. I knew it would be nice, but I wasn't expecting this. We walked into the house and the guys were immediately tackled by a blur of dark brown hair.

"Hey Riley! This is Bella and Rosalie." Emmet said as he was tackled by Riley.

Riley immediately stopped and quietly said "Hello, I'm Riley Cullen. I don't know what your last names are but you should make them Cullen and marry me" He said very seriously.

"Wow, Riley, I don't really think it's legal to have two wives." Smirked Jasper.

Meanwhile Rosalie and I couldn't stop the red from creeping across our face.

"Come on Casanova, let's go find mom" Emmet said as he threw Riley over his shoulder.

"Think about my proposal!" Riley said as he threw us a smile.

After Riley and Emmet were gone Rosalie,Edward,Jasper and I busted up laughing.

"Wh-where d-did he g-get th-that line from?" I managed to ask between laughs.

"Where do you think?" Edward responded. We all four looked at each other and at the same time said "Emmet" and then started laughing again.

Oh lord, this is going to be a fun year…I can already tell.

_**A MONTH LATER**_**  
**It's hard for me to believe that I've been in LA for a month already. Rosalie and I have progressively become closer to not only the guys, but their family as well. Edward has quickly become one of my best friends. We've managed, between the five of us, to get all but two songs written for my album. We were yet to record any of them, however. Today is Valentine's Day, and the guys told us that they were picking us up at 7:00 PM and they were taking us out for the evening. I know, every girl's dream, right? It was noon right now and I had no clue what to wear.

"Rosalie, I have a problem! I need your help!" I shouted from my room.

"What is it?" Rosalie asked as she entered my room, only to find me staring at my closet.

"I have nothing to wear" I pouted.

"So, let's go shopping…" she suggested.

"Oh, yeah…I guess that's a good solution." I answered, feeling stupid.

So at that we left the apartment and set out on the search for dresses. I don't really wear dresses that often-I'm much more of nice jeans and a dressy shirt type of girl.

"Oooo this store looks good. I see a lot of nice dresses and the guys said to dress nicely" Rosalie said as she stopped in front of a window-causing me to run into her.

We went into the store and were met with several beautiful dresses that were in our budget. Rosalie and I busied ourselves picking dress after dress off the racks. We did our tradition of picking one out for the other person and headed towards the dressing rooms. Several dresses later, neither one of us had found one. They either didn't fit, looked hideous when they DID fit, or just weren't our style.

"Ok, this is the last one. There's nothing else in the store that I like and we don't really have a whole lot of time to go anywhere else" I said as I was changing into the last one. Rosalie muttered similar phrases from next door and I distinctly heard her say that she only had one left, too.

"Are you ready?" I asked her.

"Yeah, this one actually fits and looks decent" she answered.

At that we both exited our respective dressing rooms and my jaw dropped. She was in a royal blue halter dress that was form fitting at the top and then flowed out until a couple of inches above her knee. The neck was a bit low-cut, but it was still very tasteful.

"You look amazing, R." I said in awe.

"You don't look half bad yourself, Bella. That dress looks really good on you and it's very you."

I guess the dress was very me. It was strapless, fitted at the top, and flared out until it met my knees. The part that made it me was that there was netting underneath it that made it flare out a lot. Well, that and the fact that the dress was black with a hot pink ribbon going around the waist and the netting was hot pink as well. I don't typically go for much pink but this really contrasted well.

"I think we have our winners.."Rosalie exclaimed.

"Thank God, I really didn't want to have to try and go somewhere else-It's already 2:00 and we still have to get shoes." I said as we went to get changed.

We paid for our dresses at the register and went off in search of shoes. I ended up finding a pair of black pumps with hot pink accents that matched my dress perfectly and Rosalie was able to find green and black pumps to match hers. We noticed that it was nearing 3:30 and we took off back to our apartment.

It was 6:30 and Rosalie was finishing up curling my hair. She was completely ready to go and looked gorgeous while I still had to do my makeup and fix my hair. I decided to just pin my bangs up and leave my hair down I can show off the long beach waves that Rosalie had put in it. I did my makeup where it looked fairly natural. I used a light pink on my eyelid next to my lashes and a light pink blush. The doorbell rang and Rosalie went to answer it.

"Hey! You guys look quite handsome this evening" I heard Rosalie say as she answered the door.

"Why thank you, Rosalie. You look beautiful this evening" Emmet, ever the charmer, said to her.

"Where's Bella?" Jasper asked

"Ah, she's not quite ready yet. She should be out in a couple of minutes.

I spied a hot pink flower of Rosalie's sitting on the counter and pinned it into my hair. I was finally satisfied with my look and turned off the light. I began to walk down the hall to the living room and was met with four sets of eyes staring at me.

"Is there something on my face?" I asked-paranoid at the stares I was getting.

"No, you just-you look beautiful, Bella" Edward said. I'm happy that there was already pink on my cheeks because for some reason I was blushing a little.

"Wait, is that my flower?" Rosaliea asked me.

"Yeah, is that ok? I can go take it out if it's not" I said quietly as I bit my lip.

"No, it's fine sweetie…it's looks good. I was just wondering" She smiled.

"So are we ready to go?" Emmet asked. We all followed him out to the limo they had gotten and when we got there Jasper opened the door for us.

"Does Riley know you guys are taking us out tonight? I doubt he'd be very happy with you three" I teased.

"Yeah, well Riley is 10. I love him to death but I don't really care." Edward teased back.

We pulled up to the restaurant to see paparazzi already outside.

"How did they know we were coming?" Emmet asked

"Well, Emmet, it is a popular restaurant-they probably figured there'd be a lot of celebrities here tonight" Jasper answered.

"I'm so sorry, girls. We can go somewhere else if you want so you don't have to deal with the paparrazi." Edward told us.

"It's ok Edward, I have to get used to it anyway, right?" I told him.

"But Rosalie-"

"Has to get used to it too" she cut Edward off. "If I'm going to be hanging out with you four idiots, anyway."

"Wow, love you too, R" I said sarcastically.

Cameras started flashing like crazy as we got out. Edward got out first and helped me out of the limo. Emmet did the same for Rosalie and Jasper followed them. We started walking into the restaurant to shouts of "Boys, who are these girls?" and "Are these your girlfriends?" All Rosalie and I could do was laugh.

"I'm so sorry" Edward started.

"Edward, it's cool, really. I promise…"I told him as I smiled softly and placed my hand on his arm.

We walked up to the stand and were greeted by a very nice young lady.

"Hello, your table is ready. If you'll follow me, we got you one in the back." She said nicely.

When we got to our table Edward and Emmet pulled the chairs out for Rosalie and me. We weren't used to this when we first got here, and fought them on it often. However, they just told us that our arguments were futile because they weren't going to stop so we gave up fighting. Now we quite enjoyed being treated like princesses-especially me. My father stopped treating me like that a long time ago.

"Why are we sitting in the back?"I whispered to Edward after we had sat down.

"That way it's easier to escape out the back and avoid paparazzi" Edward smiled.

The dinner was amazing, just as I expected it to be. The boys refused to let us pay for our food, and led us out the back to the limo. Emmet had apparently called the driver earlier and told him to pull around back. We were trying to think of something else to do when Emmet made a suggestion that wasn't quite expected.

"DUDE! Why don't we go to a park and play basketball!" Edward and Jasper looked at each other and simultaneously smacked him up beside the head.

"OW! What was that for?" Edward asked bewildered.

"Hmmm, I don't know Emmet. Maybe because the girls are in dresses and heels?" Jasper asked sarcastically.

"I don't care if Rosalie doesn't- It could be fun. Besides, our dresses are short and loose around the bottom and we can always take our shoes off." I said as I looked at Rosalie.

"I'm in!" she smiled.

With that we stopped to get a basketball and then headed to a park. When we got there we were deciding teams. We decided that it would be Jasper,Rosalie,and me against Emmet and Edward.

"We are SO gonna win" Emmet taunted.

"Uh huh, we'll see about that Emmy" I said as I stuck my tongue out at him.

We started playing and the first shot Edward took was a complete air ball.

"Hey, Dorothy! Oz called…they want their bricks back!" I yelled at him as I smirked.

"PONED!" Emmet yelled only to be met with a glare from Edward.

"Dude, who's team are you on Emmet?" Edward said through gritted teeth.

"Sorry, man….you got poned. You know how I love a good pone." Emmet said. We all laughed-except Edward anyway.

"That's cool. You'll get yours, Bella. You'll get yours." Edward glared at me playfully.

We were tied at 20 and we were playing to 21. We had the ball and Jasper passed it to me. I started going towards the basket and was about to go for a layup when I felt my feet leave the ground. Edward's arms were around my waist and he was picking me up to keep me from scoring and winning the game. I shot anyway and, by the grace of God, it still went in.

"That was amazing, Bella!" Jasper said as he came up to give me a fist bump.

"No way, that shouldn't have happened. There's no possible way that shot should have gone in. I demand a do-over!" Emmet said with a pout.

"Awww Emmy, just because you guys got poned, doesn't mean you have to pout. Besides, you're the one who said they like a good pone" I giggled and ruffled his hair.

Rosalie and I put our shoes back on and we headed back to the limo.

"I must say, that was a very good shot, miss" the driver said as I got into the limo.

"Why thank you" I smiled at him.

The drive back to the apartment was fairly quiet. Rosalie and I were tired and at some point I guess I fell asleep on Edward's shoulder. I remember waking up in Edward's arms as he was carrying me inside and him telling me to go back to sleep. I faintly remember feeling the covers being pulled over my body and receiving three kisses on my forehead as each one of the boys told me goodnight.

I couldn't help but smile as I fell back asleep.

* * *

Yeay Chapter 3! Let me know what you think.. :)

Ps: Just done with chptr10.. You'll love it.. :)


	4. Fearless

I woke up the next morning to three voices that sounded like they were standing in my room. I kept my eyes closed in an attempt to go back to sleep.

"Maybe we should let her sleep for a bit longer. I mean, Rosalie's still asleep and they were both really tired last night." I heard Edward whisper.

"But we really need to work on writing the songs we have left for her album" Jasper said.

"Rosalie's still asleep too, though" I heard Emmet say.

Wait, how'd they get in if Rosalie is still asleep?

"Guys, just wake them up-I'm gonna go fix coffee or breakfast or something" Jasper said. I could tell he had left the room because a few second later I heard noise coming from the kitchen.

"I guess I'll go wake Rosalie up…can you handle getting her up?" Emmet asked quietly.

"Yeah, I got it" Edward replied.

I heard my door close and Rosalie's open and close. The room was silent for a minute and then I felt Edward wiping the hair out of my face and putting it behind my ear.

"Bella? It's time to get up darlin'" I heard him whisper. I decided to mess with him-I groaned, muttered a 'go away' and rolled over away from him. This ended up being a very bad idea because he just jumped on my bed beside me.

"Bella, we have to write songs today. Please get up?"

"But I'm still tired" I said as I turned towards him and pouted.

"I know, but Jasper is in the kitchen fixing coffee and stuff"

"Fine. I guess I can't turn down someone ELSE making breakfast for me" I smiled softly as I started to get out of bed.

"You're seriously still in your dress? I thought for sure you'd change after I brought you up here" he smirked.

"Whatever-like I was really going to get out of bed after you guys tucked me in and left" I said sarcastically. "Now leave so I can change" I said as I playfully swatted his arm. He smiled and started to leave.

"Oh, shoot…I need help" I said

"You need help changing?" Edward said weirdly as a slight blush started to spread across his face.

"No, silly-I just need help unzipping my dress" I said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Oh, yeah" He walked over unzipped my dress and walked out.

I settled on a pair of black skinny jeans, a black T-shirt with hot pink writing on it. My hair still looked surprisingly good so I re-pinned my bangs back and put the flower back in. I walked out to the smell of something cooking.

"Hey, what smells so good?" I asked.

"I'm making pancakes…they're almost ready if you want some" Jasper told me as I poured myself a cup of coffee.

We all ate breakfast and Rosalie and I cleaned up after we all got done eating. We were all sitting in the living room talking and trying to come up with ideas.

"So have you come up with any songs lately? We're almost ready to start recording all of it." Emmet asked.

"Unfortunately, no. I haven't really been inspired lately. Maybe getting out of the house would do me some good. Can we maybe go back to the park we were at last night?" I asked.

"Yeah, why?" Jasper asked.

"At home, the park is where I went to sometimes get away from my dad. I used to get a lot of inspiration from it and it gave me a lot of time to think. The park last night kind of reminded me of the one at home."

"Then let's go" Edward said.

We all piled into the Ranger Rover and drove to the park. I immediately ran over to the huge rock sitting by the playground, climbed up, and just sat. I saw Rosalie Emmet and Jasper go to the swings. Emmete started pushing Rosalie-they look really cute together. I'm pretty sure they're going to end up dating. That would be good for her-neither one of us have had the greatest luck in relationships. I didn't notice Edward climbing up and sitting next to me.

"Penny for your thoughts?" he asked me quietly.

"I'm not sure they're worth that much"

"Bellar, of course they are. What's on your mind?"

"I was just thinking about how I wish I could take the past 3 years back. I wish I could go back to the beginning of this whole mess and not leave that night with my mom. If we had just stayed in, she wouldn't be dead, my dad wouldn't have gone psycho, and they'd both be here with me right now."

"But if you did that, you would be a completely different person than you are today. Everything that has happened to you has made you so much stronger than you would be otherwise. As horrible as they were, those events shaped who you are. You can't change them-you can only start over and come clean."

Nobody said anything for a while, until Edward broke the silence.

"Bella? Are you ok?" Edward asked me quietly.

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, you're crying"

"No I'm not"

"Then what's on your face?"

Just as he said that I felt raindrops start to hit my arms.

"It's raining" I smiled. I've always loved the rain. It always brings life and everything smells so new after a storm.

"That's impossible…it NEVER rains here" Edward exclaimed as he started to climb off the rock. I followed him rather slowly as I looked over to see the other three running to the car. Edward helped me off the rock and I just stood in the slow rain.

"Are you coming to the car?" he asked me

"In a minute. We aren't getting that wet yet, and I need this"

He gave me a funny look and I just turned my face to the sky and felt my hair begin to get wet. I started to spin around and dance. I hadn't gotten to play in the rain in such a long time. This was exactly what I needed.

After a few minutes I finally let Edward lead me to the car. We were met with jackets being thrown at us as we entered the car. We weren't that wet but I heard the phrases 'get sick' and 'let's go get coffee' as we began to drive.

We pulled up to a Starbucks and ran to the door. The guys ordered our drinks and Rosalie and I went to sit down. As we were walking to the table I got an idea for a song and grabbed napkins on my way to the table. When we sat down I pulled a pen out of my purse and went to work.

"Bella, what are you doing?" I vaguely heard Rosalie ask me. I didn't answer, however. I needed to get this song written before I forgot it. I didn't even notice the guys sitting down.

"What's wrong with her?" I heard Emmet say.

"I don't know, I tried to ask her and she didn't answer. I tried to look at what she's writing and she pushed me away." Rosalie said with a shrug.

I felt a head peak over my shoulder and I didn't push it away because I knew it was Edward. Besides, I was done with the song anyway.

"Sorry, I had to get that down before I forgot it."

"Can I read it?" Edward said.

I just handed him the napkin and saw him smile as he began to read these words:

_Let's go back  
Back to the beginning  
Back to when the earth, the sun, the stars all aligned_

'Cause perfect didn't feel so perfect  
Trying to fit a square into a circle  
Was no life  
I defy

Let the rain fall down  
And wake my dreams  
Let it wash away  
My sanity  
'Cause I wanna feel the thunder  
I wanna scream  
Let the rain fall down  
I'm coming clean, I'm coming clean

I'm shedding  
Shedding every color  
Trying to find a pigment of truth  
Beneath my skin

'Cause different  
Doesn't feel so different  
And going out is better  
Then always staying in  
Feel the wind

Let the rain fall down  
And wake my dreams  
Let it wash away  
My sanity  
'Cause I wanna feel the thunder  
I wanna scream  
Let the rain fall down  
I'm coming clean, I'm coming clean

I'm coming clean  
Let the rain fall  
Let the rain fall  
I'm coming...

Let the rain fall down  
And wake my dreams  
Let it wash away  
My sanity  
'Cause I wanna feel the thunder  
I wanna scream  
Let the rain fall down  
I'm coming clean, I'm coming cleanLet the rain fall down  
And wake my dreams  
Let it wash away  
My sanity  
'Cause I wanna feel the thunder  
I wanna scream  
Let the rain fall down  
I'm coming clean, I'm coming clean

Let's go back  
Back to the beginning

I knew Edward would be the only one that would truly understand where it came from, but I didn't really care. When he was finished he handed it to the other three and we sat in silence while they read it.

"This is really good, Bella. Did you really just come up with it?" Rosalie asked me.

"Sort of. Edward and I talked about some stuff at the park and then it started raining. While I was just standing in the rain I just thought of all the reasons why I like the rain-it brings life, it nourishes, and everything after a storm just smells new. I guess it could also go with baptism, now that I think of it-but that's not what I had in mind when I wrote it. It's kind of about wanting to leave the past behind and move on."

"Wow, that's deep…and very poetic" Edward said.

"Why, thank you…we should probably go put music to it, huh" I suggested

At that we left to head back to the apartment to work on my new song. One down one to go-then I can get into the studio.

It was the last day in February and Rosalie and I were at our apartment. The guys had an interview and photo shoot today so we weren't meeting up with them until tonight to watch a movie. It was 9:30 AM and I was sitting in the living room playing around on my guitar trying to come up with my last song. Rosalie came trudging into the room looking very tired.

"Did I wake you up? I'm sorry if I did" I said to her.

"No, you're fine. I didn't even know you were in here until I looked in your room. What are you doing?"

"I'm trying really hard to get my last song done. I have music for it, but I can't come up with any lyrics for it that fit." I told her.

"Well, do you want to go get breakfast somewhere? I can see if I can help. The last song we wrote together turned out well" She asked.

"Yeah, that sounds good. Let's go get dressed"

About 30 minutes later we were walking out of the apartment and walking to our favorite breakfast spot. It wasn't that far from our apartment and it was a nice day. Besides, I figured we should enjoy the time we had left where I wouldn't be stalked by paparazzi. We both ordered pancakes and eggs after we sat down and started talking.

"So what is the music like that you have?" she asked me.

"Well, it's a little upbeat, and it's happy. I kind of want to write a song about a first experience, like a kiss or something, but we both know I have no experience in that area." I told her.

"Well, I guess you could guess…" she trailed off.

All of a sudden, I smiled. Rosalie looked at me like I was crazy.

"You do know I was joking, right? You can't guess about something like that." She said with an incredulous look on her face.

"Hey R, remember junior prom back when you and Royce were dating?"

"Yeah….where are you going with this?" she asked me

"I just came up with a line for the song. Remember how you told me that it started raining while ya'll were walking to his car?"

"Yeah, how could I forget? We danced in the rain in our prom clothes." She smiled slightly at the memory.

"I don't know why, but with you I'd dance in a storm in my best dress-fearless" I said quietly.

"OO I like it!" Rosalie smiled.

"Ok…I'm going to need you to tell me about the kiss that happened that night..."

"Ummm why?" she blushed a little

"It was your first kiss…I just need to know what was going through your mind and how you felt before it happened…please? I would use my own experience but I don't have one yet" I then started to do the puppy dog eyes I know she can't resist. Plus, I knew the 'I've never been kissed' card would get her to cave. And cave she did.

"Fine" she said.

We sat at the table talking until we were done eating and then we started to walk back to the apartment.

Later that night, I had successfully finished writing the song and we were headed over to meet the guys at their house. When we arrived, I rang the doorbell and Riley answered.

"Have you two thought about my proposal yet, ladies?"

"Riley, quit hitting on them will you? You're WAY too young for them" Jasper said as he Emmet and Edward came to the door.

"Fine." Riley said sadly. At this, Rosalie bent down to his level and "whispered" in his ear.

"Riley, how about we be your bestest friends in the whole world?"

At this his eyes lit up and he shouted a "OK!" as he gave us both hugs and ran off.

"Figures that the first guy to hit on me would be an 10 year old" I said with a slight laugh.

The guys laughed lightly, none of them noticing the hint of sadness in my eyes…or so I thought. We all started walking to the couches to watch the movie and Edward held back to talk to me.

"Are you ok, Bella?" he asked me sincerely.

"Yeah, I'm fine" I said, not meeting his eyes. I started to walk off, but he caught my arm and stopped me.

"Isabella, what's wrong?"

"It's just, I wrote the last song today and I had to ask Rosalie about her first kiss and one of her dates because I didn't have any experience to draw from on the topic I wanted to write on. It's frustrating because I'm 19, haven't been on an actual date, and I've never been kissed"

What did he do? He laughed.

"Edward, it's not funny!"

"Yeah, it kind of is. Don't worry about it, Bella…it will happen."

"GUYS!" we heard Emmet shout.

We walked to the next room to be met with a very impatient Emmet.

"What took you guys so long?" he asked

"Oh, Bella was just telling me that she finished her last song today." Edward answered.

"Really? Ooo play it!" He said excitedly.

"I didn't bring my guitar…." I hadn't noticed that Edward had left the room until I felt something poke me. That something was a guitar.

"Use mine" Edward smiled.

"I had to borrow from Rosalie's life for this one" I said as I sat down and started to play the newest addition to my CD.

_There's something about the way_  
_The street looks when it's just rained_  
_There's a glow off the pavement_  
_You walk me to the car_  
_And you know I want to ask you to dance right there_  
_In the middle of the parking lot_  
_Yeah_

_We're drivin' down the road_  
_I wonder if you know_  
_I'm tryin' so hard not to get caught up now_  
_But you're just so cool_  
_Run your hands through your hair_  
_Absentmindedly makin' me want you_

_And I don't know how it gets better than this_  
_You take my hand and drag me head first_  
_Fearless_  
_And I don't know why but with you I`d dance_  
_In a storm in my best dress_  
_Fearless_

_So baby drive slow_  
_'Til we run out of road in this one horse town_  
_I wanna stay right here in this passenger's seat_  
_You put your eyes on me_  
_In this moment now capture it, remember it_

_And I don't know how it gets better than this_  
_You take my hand and drag me head first_  
_Fearless_  
_And I don't know why but with you I'd dance_  
_In a storm in my best dress_  
_Fearless_

_Well you stood there with me in the doorway_  
_My hands shake_  
_I'm not usually this way but_  
_You pull me in and I'm a little more brave_  
_It's the first kiss,_  
_It's flawless,_  
_Really something,_  
_It's fearless._

_Oh yeah_  
_And I don't know how it gets better than this_  
_You take my hand and drag me head first_  
_Fearless_  
_And I don't know why but with you I would dance_  
_In a storm in my_ _best dress_  
_Fearless_

Nobody said anything for awhile, and I was really starting to worry that they didn't like it or something. I finally looked up at them from the guitar and was met with the sight of Emmet looking at Rosalie and the other two smirking at him.

"What is it with you two and the rain?" Emmet asked, still looking at Rosalie.

"Um, it's fun….duh" I said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"I think that is the perfect song to add to your record. Now you have a few different genres on there and it will show off your diversity." Jasper said. Is he really the youngest? He seems so much older.

"Thanks, Jas" I smiled.

We made plans to start recording everything tomorrow. As we all settled in to watch "".

I couldn't wait for tomorrow.

* * *

Yeay chapter 4! Let me know what you think... :)


	5. Chapter 5

It was now mid March and we only had a few songs left to record on my album. We could have had it done by now but we decided against doing a lockdown because we have so much time. Rosalie and I are really excited because the boys are having a free concert tonight at the House of Blues and we get to go.

Rosalie and I had spent the day polishing the songs that were yet to be recorded and writing new ones since the guys couldn't hang out. They had told us to be ready at 7:00 and we had gone and gotten dinner to waste time. It was now 6:00 and we were getting ready to go.

"I don't know what to wear to this thing, Rosalie. If we're going to be with the guys it's a given that we're going to be photographed" I said while I stood in front of my closet. Hmmmm, déjà vu anyone?

"Wear your black skinny jeans, a band shirt and a vest…that will be fine"

She had a point, so I pulled out my black jeans, my black vest and a tan Led Zeppelin shirt. I threw on my pink and black vans and went to finish getting ready.

Like clockwork, at 7:00 PM there was a knock on the door. I opened it to see Esme, Riley, and Big Steve.

"Mama C!" I said as I hugged her. She just laughed.

"What about me?" Riley pouted.

"Aww I'm sorry,Riley. What's up little buddy?"

"I'm good!" he smiled.

"Well, Rosalie is almost ready…do you want the grand tour while we're waiting?" I asked.

"Sure honey, that sounds nice" Esme smiled. The trio followed me into the apartment. I took them around showing them our tiny home. We were walking back to the living room and Rosalie was following us.

"I know it isn't much, but it's home" I said.

"No, honey, it's beautiful-and it is perfect for the two of you right now" Esme smiled and gave me a hug.

"Are we ready to go?" Big Steve asked.

We all followed him out to the car and, get this, RILEY opened our door. How amazing is that?

I could definitely tell when we were getting close because the silence started to grow into a dull roar. Apparently the doors don't open until 8:00. I guess they wanted us to be able to get in before the crowd so we didn't get mobbed. We pulled up in front and Big Steve got out and came around to let us all out. The crowd became deafening-I guess they thought we were the guys. Rosalie and I followed Riley,Esme and Big Steve into the building.

Riley got asked for pictures and autographs. All Rosalie and I heard was "who are they?" and "are they dating a Cullens?" That's when I felt it. I felt a hand swing out and grab my arm rather forcefully and I started to be pulled into the mob.

"Who are you?" I girl sneered at me. I didn't answer and she grabbed my hair. "Are you dating one of them?" Again I didn't answer out of sheer fear. I was having flashbacks of my father-he used to pull my hair. I vaguely heard Riley and Rosalie yelling, but I was out of it. "Keep your hands off of them, they're MINE!" she said with a tug of my hair.

Finally, I felt two strong arms come around me and a burly voice yell. When I didn't start walking, Big Steve scooped me up in his arms and ran inside. He didn't put me down until he reached a couch backstage. When he put me down I curled up into a ball and started crying. By now, the guys had heard the commotion and all three had come running. Rosalie was trying to talk to me but I wouldn't say a word. I just kept rocking back and forth and crying.

"What happened?!" Emmet asked as the guys came up to everyone.

"Your fans weren't too happy when we pulled up. Long story short she got pulled into a mob of fans by a girl. From what I saw and heard, the fan asked her who she was and if she was dating one of you. When Bella didn't answer the girl started pulling her hair really hard and told her that she had better keep her hands off cause you guys were HER'S" I heard Rosalie say. She then quietly added just so the guys could hear, "her dad used to pull her hair".

At this Edward came over and went to pull me into his arms. When his hands made contact I flinched and shrugged him away.

"Please don't hurt me" I whimpered

"Isabella, it's me, Edward" I didn't move but I let him pull me into his arms.

"It reminded you of your father, didn't it" He said as held me in his arms. I just nodded into his chest.

"I will NEVER do that to you…none of us will, ok? You're safe here, Bella" he said in my ear as he kept rocking me.

"Boys, you have to go get ready-I'm sorry" Their father said quietly. Edward looked like he didn't want to go, so I looked up at him.

"I'm fine, Edward…just a little shaken up. Go get ready….I'll be standing on the sidelines watching you perform" I said as I met his eyes.

"Well, we wanted to talk to you about that. We were wondering if you would consider singing 'Good Time' with us tonight. We figured it was time we introduced you to the world-" Edward said softly.

"-But we completely understand if you don't want to now" Emmet finished for him.

"No, I want to do it. I need to do it. I need to just get lost in the music tonight."

Edward smiled and kissed me on the forehead as he got up to leave. The other two boys followed suit, and as they were leaving Riley hopped up, imitated his brothers and then followed them out of the room. This left me with Carlise,Esme and Rosalie

"I don't know what you two have done, but you have succeeded in reeling in all FOUR of my boys" Esme said as she pulled us both into a hug.

"Honestly, Mama C, we have no idea what we did either" I smiled at her.

We all went to join the circle-up before the boys went onstage. The prayer almost made me cry all over again because Carlise said "Thank you Lord for the two lovely guests we have with us this evening, and thank you for keeping Bella safe tonight" right in the middle of it. I felt both of my hands being squeezed. After the prayer was finished we all chanted "Living The Dream" and the boys grabbed their acoustic guitars and ran to the stage.

Esme and Rosalie helped me fix my hair-it had gotten quite messed up in the fan encounter. I heard them kick into an acoustic version of "Viva La Vida" and Rosalie and I started dancing. After that song, I expected them to go into another one, but instead they started talking.

"What are they doing?" I asked Carlise and Esme.

"Well, they talked about it before circle up and decided that they are going to bring up earlier and make a statement to the fans about it" Carlise said

"They don't have to do that! Won't that just make their fans mad?" I asked bewildered.

"They all three agreed that anyone that gets mad over it isn't a real fan. I also believe the phrase 'I couldn't care less if they get mad-you don't just blatantly attack someone like that because they think we're dating them' was said at one point" Carlise smiled.

"It was brought to our attention that earlier this evening, one of our best friends was attacked out front by a fan" Emmet said.

The room went dead silent.

"That isn't cool with us-you don't just attack someone because you think they are dating us. She ISN'T dating any of us, but wouldn't you be happy for us if she were? We're just like you-we want to find someone like everybody else" Edward added.

"I think what we're trying to say is to please be happy for us instead of attacking possible 'competition'. Now that that's out of the way, are you ready for the next song?!" Jasper finished.

I was speechless as the song started up.

"I can't believe they just did that" I said quietly.

"I can. Like I said, my boys care about you two a lot…probably more than you realize" Esme smiled an all-knowing smile.

"What are you smiling about? What do you know that we don't?" I asked her.

"I don't know anything. I'm just a mother. Now watch the show…you never know when they'll call you up." She smirked. So THAT is where her children get that smirk from. Figures.

She was right because a few songs later I was hearing my introduction.

"Please welcome Isabella Swan!" Emmet said rather loudly. I walked onto the stage holding a microphone. There was a lot of applause and some scoffs. I figured the scoffs were from my previous attackers…but who is the one onstage with the Cullens? That's right, ME.

"Hey guys! How are ya'll doing tonight?" I said while Jasper and Edward started the intro to "Good Time". "I wrote this song with the guys for my new album…I hope you like it-it's called 'Good Time'"

(**Bella **_Emmet _**_Both_**)

**Whoa-oh-oh-oh**  
It's always a good time  
**Whoa-oh-oh-oh**  
It's always a good time

Woke up on the right side of the bed  
What's up with this Prince song inside my head?  
Hands up if you're down to get down tonight  
_**'Cause it's always a good time**_

Slept in all my clothes like I didn't care  
Hopped into a cab, take me anywhere  
I'm in if you're down to get down tonight  
'_**Cause it's always a good time**_

**Good morning and good night**  
**I'll wake up at twilight**  
_**It's gonna be alright**_  
_**We don't even have to try**_  
_**It's always a good time**_

_**Whoa-oh-oh-oh Whoa-oh-oh-oh**_  
_**It's always a good time**_  
_**Whoa-oh-oh-oh Whoa-oh-oh-oh**_  
_**We don't even have to try, it's always a good time.**_

**Freaked out, dropped my phone in the pool again**  
**Checked out of my room, hit the ATM**  
**Let's hang out if you're down to get down tonight**  
**'Cause it's always a good time**

Good morning and good night  
**I'll wake up at twilight**  
_**It's gonna be alright**_  
We don't even have to try  
It's always a good time.

_**Whoa-oh-oh-oh Whoa-oh-oh-oh**_  
_**It's always a good time**_  
_**Whoa-oh-oh-oh Whoa-oh-oh-oh**_  
_**We don't even have to try, it's always a good time.**_

Doesn't matter when  
It's always a good time then  
**Doesn't matter where**  
**It's always a good time there**

Doesn't matter when,  
It's always a good time then

_**Whoa-oh-oh-oh Whoa-oh-oh-oh**_  
_**It's always a good time**_  
_**Whoa-oh-oh-oh Whoa-oh-oh-oh**_  
_**We don't even have to try, it's always a good time.**_

As we finished, the crowd went crazy and I could not, for the life of me, stop smiling.

"Thank you!" I yelled as I waved to the crowd.

"Isabella Swan, everybody!" Emmet said as he gave me a hug. As I walked offstage I heard him say "You can see more of her this summer as the opening act for our tour"

Some people actually cheered.

As I walked backstage, I heard a squeal as Rosalie jumped on me and made me fall over. Apparently, the boys were looking over at us because I heard the three laughing through the speakers.

"I guess her best friend was a little excited for her….she just got tackled backstage" Emmet laughed. The crowd started laughing and he added "Hey, Bella! You OK?"

"I'm good!" I yelled as I got off the floor. Apparently the crowd heard that because they started laughing more.

"Oh, good..no injuries" Emmet said with a laugh.

"Of course not, Breaker-we have to leave that up to you" Jasper quipped.

"Yeah, yeah, let's play some more music and quit making fun of me" Emmet pouted.

They finished the show and as they left the stage Rosalie and I found ourselves in a three-way Cullen sandwich.

"Let's go to our house to watch a movie and celebrate." Rosalie said.

"Ok, let us go over to our house to shower and stuff and we'll be over" Emmet said.

"Bring extra clothes in case you decide to stay over!" I yelled after them as they ran off. Edward waved to let us know he heard us.

Big Steve took us back to our house and we got food and stuff ready for our movie-thon. About 45 minutes later, there was a knock on our door.

We let the guys in and decided to watch "1408".

Rosalie and I immediately were cuddled into the guys' chests because we were getting scared. I don't think any of us actually finished the movie because we were all so tired.

We all ended up sleeping in the living room that night.

* * *

I woke up in the middle of the night that night after having a nightmare about my father. I saw that I was indeed in Edward's arms and tried to hold my tears back until I was out of his arms so I wouldn't wake him up. I finally got free and waited to see if he was still asleep. When I saw that he was, I quickly walked to the bathroom. I turned the light on and the tears started falling when I looked in the mirror. I slowly sunk down the wall and put my head on my knees and just let the tears fall.

I don't understand why this keeps happening to me. I had finally gotten away from my father, only to be attacked by someone else. I had finally stopped having nightmares about my life back in Forks, and now they're back. I just want the nightmares to go away. I looked at the drawer thought about how I used to relieve my tension and pain. I crawled over and picked up the shiny object out of the drawer-cradling it in my hands. Did I really want to get back into this cycle? Did I really want to resort back to this and take several steps back in my recovery? I readied the blade above my leg and it was almost in contact with my skin when I heard it.

"Isabella?"

Shit. I had forgotten to close the door all the way.

**(Edward POV)  
**I woke up to an empty feeling beside me and to my side being cold. I opened my eyes to find that Bella was gone. I looked around the room and saw that she was nowhere to be found. I started towards her room when I saw it-the light in the bathroom was on. As I got closer I heard soft cries coming from inside.

I saw Bella sitting on the floor curled up in a ball. She was looking at something, but I couldn't see what it was. That's when I saw something I wish I hadn't. I saw her start to lower a razor blade down to her leg.

'She wouldn't, would she?' I thought to myself. Apparently, she would because she wasn't stopping. When it was almost in contact with her leg I knew I needed to make my presence known.

"Isabella?"

**(Bella POV)**  
He just stood in the doorway for a minute looking back and forth from my hand to my eyes. Finally, he stepped inside and shut the door. I knew he was doing this in case anyone else woke up.

"Edward, I-"

"What the hell do you think you are doing?" Great. He was angry.

"It's not what it looks like" I said quietly.

"Not what it looks like? Cause what it looks like is you were about to cut yourself, Bella. Are you SURE that it's not what it looks like?" His voice was rising now-still not loud enough to wake anyone else up-but he had never yelled at me before.

"Please stop yelling" I said trying to keep the new tears from falling.

"Give me one good reason why I should stop yelling at you Bella" He said rather rudely.

"Because it makes me scared of you" I said as my voice broke.

The look in his eyes when I said that broke my heart. He immediately walked over, bent down, and picked the blade up from my hand and set it on the counter. He sat down and scooped me up into his arms. I involuntarily flinched at the contact, but he didn't loosen his grip any.

"Please don't be afraid of me. I never want you to be afraid, Bella. Please just talk to me, and tell me that you weren't going to go through with that if I hadn't walked in" he said in a rough whisper.

"I would, but that would be a lie"

"Ok, you want to tell me why you were going to do that?" he asked me.

"That's how I used to deal with everything back home. Every time my father would hit me, I would cut. It got my mind off of it" I whispered.

"So to get your mind off of the physical pain, you caused yourself more physical pain? I'm not sure I understand that."

"No, to get my mind off the fact that my FATHER would do that to me, I'd cause myself physical pain. I never went deep enough to do any real damage or to leave a mark most of the time"

"So you've been doing this for three years? Bella, you need to stop" he said. I felt a tear hit my head…he was crying?

"I had stopped, tonight was the first time I've even thought about it since I moved out of his house. I guess earlier brought back memories"

"Why did you wake up?" Edward asked me quietly.

"I had a nightmare about one of the harsher beatings I got from my dad. I didn't mean to wake you."

"I'm happy you did…promise me you won't do it again. I need you to say it, and I need you to mean it. I can't lose you, Bella -I love you too much" Edward said as he pulled back to look me in the eyes.

"I promise" I whispered. I saw a few more tears leak out of his eyes as he searched my eyes for validation of my statement.

"Thank you" he said as he pulled my head back to his chest. It was silent for a few moments until he broke it.

"Do you want to talk about your nightmare?" He asked me. I just shook my head into his chest.

"Not yet" I answered. Picked me up in his arms and carried me to my room. He set me down in my bed, tucked me in, and started for the door.

"Please don't leave me" I whimpered. He closed the door and walked back to the bed. He crawled under the covers and immediately pulled me into him.

After a few moments of cuddling into his chest, I broke the silence.

"It was of the last night I was at my house" I whispered into his shirt. When he didn't answer, I thought he had fallen asleep.

"What was?" he said back.

"My nightmare". I felt him take a deep breath.

"What happened?" he said shakily as he sighed.

"Well, I was up in my room getting ready to go over to Rosalie's house. She was helping me record my demo. She was helping me because she wanted me to get my dream. She didn't know that the main reason I wanted it so badly was to get away from my dad. I heard the front door slam open and he started yelling for me to come down."

"Why didn't you stay in your room?" He asked me quietly when I paused.

"Because that only made him angrier. I learned quickly that it was better to just do what he told me to do. I went downstairs and could smell the alcohol coming from him. The beatings were always worse when he was drunk." I once again paused to keep my tears back. I felt Edward's arms tighten around me.

"Before I could even say anything he had thrown me onto the stairs. He got mad at me for not having his dinner ready at 6:00. I told him that it was only 5:15 as I stood up and he smacked me back to the floor. He kicked me in my sides repeatedly for talking back to him. He told me to fix his food and then to go to my job. I made the mistake of asking what job he was talking about and he smacked me back to the floor again. I told him I was supposed to go to Rosalie's to work on my demo, and I guess I shouldn't have stood up because he threw me right back down. He started kicking me again and started telling me that I belonged to him. He said that I was useless as anything but something to look at-that I had no talent. He stopped kicking me long enough to say the one thing that hurt me more than any of the physical pain he had inflicted. 'Who would want their kids looking up to a murderer?' He kicked me again and walked off. Later he took me to the strip club…and you've heard the rest of it already. Rosalie doesn't know the details of that night, and I don't want her to. I don't want anyone to know about the cutting either, ok?"

"Ok…"

It was dead silent in the room. The only movement was Edward moving his hand up and down my back.

"Why haven't you talked about it before?"

"I usually just bury stuff. I hate crying-it always makes me feel weak. I don't think I've even completely grieved the loss of my mother yet."

"Bella, please don't hold anything in. If you need to cry, please just cry. It's not healthy to bottle everything up. You'll have a breakdown if you do. Nothing could make me see you as weak…please-if you need to cry, I'm right here…and I'm not going anywhere." I felt the familiar feeling of his tears hitting my head and the dam broke.

I completely broke down in the arms of Edward Cullen, and there couldn't have been a better place I could have done it. The last time I felt so comforted and safe was when my mother was still alive. He turned on his side towards me and pulled me flush against him. He completely shocked me when he began to sing.

"_Ooh-oo child Things are gonna get easier  
Ooh-oo child Things'll get brighter  
Ooh-oo child Things are gonna get easier  
Ooh-oo child Things'll get brighter_"

My tears began to slow. I had never heard Edward sing by himself, and tonight he sang so quietly, but it was filled with emotion that was oddly comforting. Not to mention it was one of my favorite songs. My mother used to sing it to me when I was upset."_Someday, yeah We'll get it together and we'll get it all done  
Someday When your head is much lighter  
Someday, yeah We'll walk in the rays of a beautiful sun  
Someday When the world is much brighter_"

Between Edward rubbing my back and singing to me, my tears had completely stopped and my eyelids started to get heavy. I felt Edward kiss my forehead."I love you, Bella" he whispered into my hair.

"I love you too" I said into his chest. He tightened his hold on me and we both fell asleep.

**(Edward POV)  
**"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?" I heard my brother scream.

It took me a minute to get my bearings and then I realized what Emmet was yelling about. Bella was looking up at me with her big brown eyes. They were filled with fear and I knew it was because Emmet was yelling.

"First off, Emmet, stop yelling" I answered calmly.

"No! You tell me why you are in bed with Bella, and then, MAYBE if it's a good reason I'll stop yelling!" Bella had now buried her head in my chest.

"What's going on?" Jasper and Rosalie had now walked up.

"I found Edward and Bella in bed with each other. THAT IS WHAT'S GOING ON" He just kept on yelling.

"Emmete, please stop yelling" I said back.

"I SAID NO" Emmet got even louder-I didn't think that was possible. Bella was now visibly crying and I could feel her tears soaking through my shirt.

"Emmet, for the love of God, stop yelling!" Rosalie finally yelled at him.

"Why should I stop?" he yelled back at her. At this, Bella ran out of the room in tears.

"What's her problem?" he said rudely.

"Yelling reminds her of her dad Emmet." I said. His face immediately fell. "And for your information, she had a nightmare about her dad last night and I found her crying in the bathroom. I brought her in here so she wouldn't wake you guys up, and she wanted me to stay. We talked about it and she fell asleep after completely breaking down." I gritted my teeth at him.

"I'm an ass" Emmet said quietly.

That's right Emmet. Feel free to go curl up in your corner now.

"Way to state the obvious, there. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go calm her down since you upset her again." I said as I started for the door.

"I'm sorry Edward. I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions, and I shouldn't have yelled" he apologized.

"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to, Emmet" I sighed. I started to walk out the door when he spoke again.

"Let me. I need to apologize. I'm the one that yelled, I 'm the one that needs to fix this."

At that Emmet walked out the door towards the bathroom.

**(Bella POV)**  
I was sitting in the bathroom yet again. I had stopped crying and I was just staring at the sink when I heard a knock on the door. I didn't answer.

"Bella?" It was Emmet.

"Go away, Em."

At that the door opened. He stepped inside and closed the door behind him.

"I'm sorry…I'm an ass. I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions and I shouldn't have yelled. I'm so sorry, please don't be angry at me"

"I'm not mad at you Emmy. I just get really scared still when someone yells at me. For the past few years, yelling has always been accompanied with punches and kicks."

"I would never do that to you. I would rather die than hurt you, Bella. Please believe me when I say that"

"I do believe you Em, it's just an involuntary reaction right now. We're ok" I told him as I looked up to meet his eyes. I wanted him to trust me on that.

"Promise?"

"I promise" I smiled.

We both stood up and he gave me a hug. We opened the door and three people fell through it. I couldn't help but laugh at the dog pile in front of me.

"It's not funny…I'm on the bottom" Rosalie whined.

"That's what you get for eavesdropping" I teased as Emmet and I went to step over them. It didn't work very well because they pulled us down with them. We all started cracking up because none of us could move very well.

Everything was back to normal-for now.

* * *

Hey just wanna say Thank You to wolfygrr21 fot the correction.. Sorry My bad.. :)


	6. Chapter 6

It was now the first day of April and Rosalie and I spent the entire night before plotting against the boys. There was a knock on the door and Rosalie went to let the guys in. Just as she opened the door, my phone went off.

"Hey guys! I said as I picked up my phone.

"Who is it?" Rosalie asked. We were both confused because pretty much all of the people that called me on my phone were currently in the room.

"It's your dad" I said confused.

"Hmm, that's weird" she said.

"He probably meant to call you" I said as I opened the phone.

"Hey Aro! Rosalie's right here, let me get her for-" I started.

"Bella, I called your phone on purpose. There's something you should know" I heard him say.

"What's wrong?" As I said this I saw the laughter of the group die down a little and they all looked at me. I had a feeling the news was not going to be good, so I walked into the kitchen.

"Jake, Kate, and Lily were in a car accident Bella"

"Please tell me that this is some sick twisted April Fool's joke, Aro. Tell me that you are going to say 'Gotcha!' any minute now and that my brother, sister-in-law, and niece are all ok" I said with tears threatening to fall out of my eyes.

"I wish I could sweet pea, but I can't. I don't know much information, but I thought you would want to know. All I know is that they are at Harborview Medical Center. Look, Bella-I know you want to leave this place behind, but-"

"I'll be there as soon as I can" I cut him off.

"Ok, be safe" He said as he hung up the phone.

I stood in the kitchen in shock for a minute. I ran through the living room and down the hallway to my room. I threw a suitcase onto my bed and started throwing clothes into it. That's how the other four found me as they ran into my room.

"Bella" Rosalie said quietly.

"I need you to go book me a flight to Seattle for as soon as possible"

"What, why?"

"Jake was in a car accident. His whole family is in the hospital-as patients. I need to go-now." I said as calmly as possible. All I really wanted to do was punch something.

"Oh my god. I'm coming back with you" she said as she ran out of the room to presumably go get tickets.

"Bella" Edward started.

"Look, Edward, I don't really want to talk about it right now ok?" He didn't say a word. He just walked over and started folding my clothes and placing them back into my bag.

A few minutes later Rosalie walked into the room. "The soonest flight they have home is for tomorrow at 9AM" she said quietly.

"No. there has to be one sooner than that"

"I'm sorry Bella"

"We'll take you" I heard Joe say.

"What are you talking about, Emmet" I looked at him.

"We'll take our jet. It can be ready to go in an hour" he said.

"You'd do that?" I asked bewildered.

"Umm, let me think about that for a minute….yes" he smiled slightly. With that he was on his phone calling his dad to make the arrangements.

30 minutes later we were all getting into their car. However, we weren't headed for the airport.

"Why are we going to your house?" I asked.

"We're getting some clothes" Edward said.

"You're all coming with us?"

"Of course" He smiled.

45 minutes later we were taking off from the airport. I put in my ipod and just stared out the window. I was vaguely aware of Rosalie sitting down beside me. She put her arm around my shoulder and pulled my head onto her shoulder. She started playing with my hair. I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I knew she was shaking my shoulder.

"Honey, we're here"

We all piled off the plane and into a black SUV. I gave Big Steve directions on how to get to the hospital. When we pulled up, I didn't even wait for the car to stop. I ran through the doors and up to the reception desk.

"I need information on Jake Swan" I said slightly out of breath.

"Hold on for just one second please" the nurse said.

"Please, I need to know if my brother is ok" I said

"Jake Swan is in room 365" She responded.

Before she could say another word, I was off to the elevators. The others must have come in while I was talking to the nurse because they caught up to me at the elevator.

We went up to the second floor and I started looking for his room. When I found it, I looked in and saw my brother staring at the wall with his arm in a sling and his leg in a cast.

"Jake?" I said softly as I walked into the room.

"Bella?" At the sound of my name I ran to his bed and gave him a hug careful not to land on his arm.

"What are you doing here? Aro said you were in LA" He said.

"Yeah, about that-I'm sorry I didn't tell you. There was some stuff I needed to get away from"

"It's ok, little sis"

"How are Kate and Lily?" I asked him timidly. He just sighed.

"Well, Kate is still in surgery. They've told me that Lily just broke her arm and is ready to be released. However, they can't do that because there isn't a family member to take her." He said sadly.

"I'll get her" and without another word I was walking to the nurse's station on that floor.

30 minutes later, I had shown the needed ID and filled out the needed paperwork and was walking to my 3 year old niece's room. I looked inside and she was staring at the TV.

"Hey shortcake" I said to make my presence known.

"Aunt Bella? What are you doing here?" She asked-her eyes lighting up.

"I'm here to bust you out, kiddo. Everything is filled out, so you can come with me" I told her as I picked her shoes up off the floor.

"Really?" She asked as I was putting her shoes on her.

"Would I lie to you?" I asked with a smile. She smiled and put her arms around my neck. I picked her up and she buried her head in my neck. I walked to the elevator and hit the button for the second floor.

"Hey Lily…do you still like the Cullens?" I asked her with a sly smile coming onto my face.

"Yeah, why?"

"No reason" I said as I walked out of the elevator and towards my brother's room. When I got to the room, I saw that the boys were sitting on the couch and they were all talking to my brother. They noticed me and were about to say something when I put my finger up to my lip to silence them.

"Hey shortcake?"

"Yeah?" she asked me quietly. I had felt a tear hit my neck and new she needed some cheering up.

"Do you want to meet some friends of mine? I think it will cheer you up." I told her. I felt her nod into my neck and I turned her so she was on my hip. The minute she saw the guys her eyes went wide and her little face broke out into a smile.

"I love you" she said.

"Aww, I love you too, shortcake" I said as I kissed her temple.

"Who said I was talking to you?" she said as she started struggling to be let down. Everyone laughed at this and I put her down. She immediately ran over to them and stopped right in front of them.

"I'm Lily Grace Swan" she said as she held the arm out that wasn't currently in a cast. The boys smiled and each bypassed the arm and pulled her into a hug instead.

I have never seen that child smile so much. She landed on Edward's lap and I just sulked over to the chair and pouted because my niece had completely ditched me for boys. I saw Edward look over at me and whisper something in Lily's ear. He helped her off his lap and she walked over to me.

"Aunt Bella? I'm sorry for hurting your feelings" she said while looking at the ground. It was so dang cute I had to fight the smile that was forming on my face.

"No, it's fine Lily It's ok if you don't love me" I said back.

"But I do love you Aunt Bella! I love you THIS much" she said as she held her arms out to her side as far as she could reach. No one in the room could keep the laughter back now. But all of that changed when the doctor walked into the room. His expression looked like the news he was going to be sharing was not pleasant. I shot Edward and Edward a look and Rosalie bent down to Lily's level.

"Lily, let's go get something to eat with the boys, ok?" she said. Lily nodded and they started for the door. Lily walked over to Edward and tugged on the leg of his jeans.

"What's up sweetie?" he asked her.

"Will you carry me?" He smiled at her and bent down and swept her into his arms. At that the five of them left the room. The doctor walked over and I sat down on the bed by my brother.

"How is my wife?" He asked the doctor. I could tell by his voice that he knew it wasn't good.

"Her surgery was very complicated, and she lost a lot of blood. We did everything we could, but we lost her on the table and were unable to revive her" He said. At that, the doctor turned around and left the room. My brother started sobbing and I put my arms around him and let him cry on my shoulder like he had let me do after mom died.

"How am I going to tell Lily her mom is gone?" he asked through his tears.

"I'll tell her Jake, ok?" I told him. He nodded and I just held him. I texted Rosalie to come back up. A few minutes later I heard the door open and Rosalie poked her head in. She walked over and took my place on the bed so I could go talk to Lily.

"Where's everyone else?" I asked her.

"They went to the waiting room after I got your text. They figured it wasn't a great idea to bring Lily back in here right now."

Without a word I started to walk to the waiting room on that floor. When I reached it, I saw my three favorite boys playing with my niece trying to preoccupy her. She was smiling and laughing and I felt horrible that I had to ruin that. Edward looked up and met my eyes. I shook my head and he came over and pulled me into a hug.

"Are you ok?" he whispered.

"No. And I have to tell Lily her mother is dead" I said as I pulled out of his grasp. I walked over to my niece with Edward following me.

"Come here, shortcake" I held my arms out.

"Why are you crying, Aunt Bella?" she asked me as she wiped my tears away with her little hand.

"Honey, you know how you were in an accident earlier with your mommy and daddy?" She nodded her head. "Well, your mommy got hurt really bad and sometimes when you get hurt badly enough, you can't get better. You mommy was so hurt that the doctors couldn't fix her and she went up to heaven to be your guardian angel."

"When is she coming back?" At this my heart broke. I looked up at the guys and saw tears in their eyes too. I know they were thinking the same thing I was-no one should have to tell a three year old that their mommy isn't coming back.

"She's not coming back, sweetie. She's with God now" I said quietly.

"Oh" She said as her lip trembled. She curled up in my lap and buried her head in my neck and started crying. At the feeling of her little body shaking, I finally let my tears fall. The guys sat down next to us. Edward was rubbing my back, Emmet was sitting in front of me rubbing Lily's back, and Jasper sat on my other side with his hand on mine and Lily's legs.

After a while we were both still crying and Edward took Lily from my arms and started to carry her back to my brother's room. She wrapped her arms around his neck and the rest of us followed him. He put her in next to Jake in his bed and she immediately curled up in his side.

"Mommy's an angel now?" she asked him.

"Yeah, Mommy's an angel now" he told her.

We sat on the couch watching the scene, and there wasn't a dry eye in the bunch.

After awhile, Lily fell asleep and Rosalie offered to take her back to her house. I decided to stay and Edward said he'd stay with me.

We talked to my brother for a while until he fell asleep. After Jake was asleep, Edward and I went to the couch. He pulled me into him and laid back.

"Thank you" I whispered.

"No problem" he whispered back. He kissed my forehead and we fell asleep in each other's arms.

* * *

My Lessons from last chapter is DON'T talk to ur Hubby when you write fanfiction, it's not good because you can write his name to your fanfiction! I'll love if I can change Edward name with my hubby! Lol

So this is Last Chapter for now,I'll break for 2-3 days.. My hubby surprise me with 'Valentine Trip' and now we on our way to airport!

Happy Valentine peops.. :)


	7. Chapter 7

**(Bella POV)**

A few days later we were all getting ready for Kate's graveside service. Rosalie's dad had offered to let us all stay at their house, so I was currently in Rosalie's room. I was trying really hard to put my necklace on, but I couldn't get it clasped. I heard a knock on the door and I looked up to meet Edward's eyes in the mirror. Without saying anything he just walked over and fastened it for me.

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm ok…I'm just worried"

"About what?"

"I'm worried that my brother is going to turn into my dad. My dad lost it when my mom died, and I don't want Lily to go through that." I said.

"What do you mean dad lost it when mom died?" I heard my brother say from the doorway. I didn't answer.

"He doesn't know?" Edward asked. I shook my head.

"What don't I know?" Jake asked me.

"That dad started using me as a punching bag after mom died" I said softly. He just walked over and pulled me into a bear hug.

"Why didn't you ever tell me? I could have gotten you out."

"I didn't want to risk Lily getting hurt"

"I won't do that to Lily,Bella. She needs me now more than ever. I promise, ok?" he said as he looked me in the eyes.

"Good, cause if you did, I'd have to kick your ass" I smirked at him as I walked out the door.

The drive to the cemetery in the limo was fairly long-at least it seemed like it. No one really wanted to say anything for fear of saying the wrong thing. I was sitting by Edward with my head on his shoulder and Lily was sitting on our laps. I guess she couldn't make up her mind because she was sitting on one of my legs and one of Edward's. I looked up to see my brother smirking at me.

"Why are you smirking at me Jake" I said without moving.

"Nothing, little sis-nothing at all" he said. The car went back to complete silence.

The service was very nice. Lily attached herself to me and wouldn't let go. Everyone put a single red rose on the coffin as they walked off. Everyone had left except for Jake, Rosalie, Aro, the guys, Lily, and me. Lily wanted to leave, and Rosalie offered to take her back to the house because she was ready as well. Lily latched herself onto Rosalie and they started walking to her dad's car. Edward hung back.

"Do you want me to stay?" he asked me as he gave me a hug.

"No, it's ok. I'm going to go talk to my mom" I said into his chest. I felt him smile into my hair.

"Ok, tell her I said hi" he said. He kissed my forehead and walked to the car.

I couldn't help but smile as I watched him walk away. Now it was just Jake and me.

"He's a good guy, that Edward. He's a keeper."

"Wow, that's potentially awkward…we're not dating" I told him as a blush crept up my face.

"Uh huh…in due time, short stuff, in due time" He smiled as he put his arm around me.

"Right, I'm gonna go talk to mom"

"Ok, I'll meet you over there in a bit." He said.

With that I started walking over to my mom's headstone. When I got there I sat down in front of it.

"Hi mom, I guess you know by now that Kate's gone. But somehow knowing that she's with you makes it easier to accept. Now you won't be so lonely. I miss you a lot mom. I'm finally making my dreams come true. I even wrote a song for you for my CD. I think of you every time I sing it because you are the one that always believed in me. I love you and I wonder everyday what my life would be like if you hadn't been taken away from me, but I'll never know."

I paused as I felt someone standing behind me.

"Jake?"

"Apologizing for killing her, I see"

I froze. Every muscle in my body tensed up at the sound of his voice and my eyes widened in fear. But I didn't turn around.

"What are you doing here, Charlie" I asked through gritted teeth.

"Now, is that any way to speak to your father? You were just telling your mother how much you miss her and love her-and you speak that way to me?" He said as he grabbed my arm and pulled me off the ground.

"She never beat the shit out of me either, did she?" I sneered at him. Come on Jake, where are you?

"You little bitch" He snarled. Then the familiar sensation sunk in as he backhanded me with enough force to knock me to the ground. He was just about to kick me when I heard it.

"Hi _dad_" Jake said emphasizing the word 'dad'.

"Jake! How are you son? I'm so sorry to hear about Kate" he said as he started to Jake for a hug. Jake put his hand on our father's chest to stop him.

"Abusing your children now, are we?" He asked.

"What? Oh, no. I just came to talk to your mother and Bella was already sitting here talking to her" he tried.

"Save it, dad. I saw you hit her" Jake said as he came over to me. "Are you ok, Bella?" he whispered as he reached me. I nodded as he helped me up. He put his suit jacket over my shoulders, put his arm around me, and we started to walk away from Charlie.

"I'll see you later, Bella!" My dad said cheerfully.

We got back to the limo and rode back to Rosalie's house with me in my big brother's arms.

"I'm so sorry, Bella. I'm sorry that you had to deal with that for so long, and I'm sorry I didn't come to meet you earlier." Jake whispered in my hair.

"It's ok. It's not your fault our father's a psycho" I tried a lame attempt at humor. It didn't work very well.

We pulled up to the house and got out. I'm sure it was going to be painfully obvious that I had had a run in with my dad, but there wasn't much I could do about it. We walked into the house to find everyone waiting for us in the living room.

"Bella? Are you ok?" Rosalie asked me.

"Yeah, why?"

"You have the beginnings of a black eye, that's why" Edward added.

"I'm fine" I said simply as I walked up the stairs to Rosalie's room. I lay down on the bed and curled up in a ball with my back facing the door.

**(Edward POV)**

****The minute I saw Bella's face I knew something was wrong. I listened to her say she was fine and watched her walk up the stairs. When she was out of sight I turned to look at Jake.

"She's not fine is she" I asked him.

"No. Our father showed up at the cemetery after you guys left. She had gone to talk to our mom and I was going to meet her over there a few minutes later. I got there just in time to see him backhand her and her fall to the ground" he said looking at the ground.

"I should have stayed. I was going to stay because I had a bad feeling, but she told me that she was ok." I said softly.

"I'm going to quote what my sister told me on our way back here. 'It's not your fault our father's a psycho'" Jake said to me.

I couldn't help but crack a smile at that. It was so like Bella to try to make a stupid comment in a serious situation. I looked at Rosalie, silently asking which one of us should go upstairs. She motioned towards the stairs with her head so I stood up and started towards the stairs. I went to Rosalie's room and looked inside. My best friend was curled up in a ball on the bed and her shoulders were shaking.

I walked around the bed and crawled in beside her. I brushed her hair out of her face and lightly ran my hand over the bruise that was now forming on her cheek. She winced and I pulled her into my chest. I didn't say anything because, honestly, I didn't know what to say. I just rubbed circles on her back until she stopped crying.

"I'm scared, Edward" She said softly-almost too soft to hear.

"I know, buddy" I said as I kissed her forehead

"I thought it was Jake behind me at first but then I heard his voice asking me if I was apologizing to my mom for killing her. I guess I got a little too brave and stood up to him. It got me backhanded and everything I thought I had accomplished by getting away fell apart" Her voice broke.

I pulled her in closer and kept rubbing her back. All I could think to do was to sing to her.

"_Ooh-oo child Things are gonna get easier  
Ooh-oo child Things'll get brighter  
Ooh-oo child Things are gonna get easier  
Ooh-oo child Things'll get brighter"_

Her breathing had evened out and I looked to see that she was asleep. Just then, movement in the doorway caught my eye. I looked up and Jake was standing in the doorway with tears in his eyes. I guess he had been standing there longer than I thought.

**(Bella POV)**

****I woke up to a kiss on my forehead and Edward telling me I needed to wake up. I opened my eyes to see him staring back at me.

"Hey sleepy, you have to pack-we're leaving in an hour" he whispered

I just groaned and rolled over.

"Don't make me throw you into a cold shower to wake you up, cause you know I will" I heard Rosalie say from the doorway.

I groaned and rolled out of the bed. Edward walked over and gave me a hug. We were interrupted by my brother.

"Hey Edward, can I talk to you for a minute?" Jake said.

"Jake…" I started. Edward just chuckled and walked out of the room.

I got some clothes out of my suitcase and went to the bathroom to shower. I looked into the mirror and saw the bruise staring back at me. I shook my head, got undressed, stepped into the shower, and wondered what on earth my brother could possibly have wanted to talk to Edward about.

**(Edward POV)**

****I followed Jake down to the kitchen and he threw me a water bottle. We sat down at the bar and I waited for him to say whatever he wanted to say. I figured it had something to do with Bella and/or her dad.

"So, you and my little sister, huh?" he asked. I full out spit water out on that one. Jake started laughing.

"What?" I asked bewildered.

"Oh come on, Edward. It doesn't take a genius to see you're falling for her." He said with an amused smile on his face.

"I don't know what you're talking about" I said as I looked at the bar in front of me.

"Oh come on. It's so obvious to everyone but the two of you. I just wanted to let you know that it's cool. From what I've seen of you, you're a good guy. I could see it in your eyes earlier when you were holding her. I know how much you care about her, and the way you knew how to calm her down makes me think you've had to do this before. Thank you for taking care of my little sister, Edward."

"You're welcome, but I'm her best friend. It's what I'm supposed to do" At this Jake chuckled again.

"Don't be afraid to let yourself love her, Edward. And don't be afraid to let her know how you feel. You might be surprised at her reaction."

"I don't like your sister like that Jake" I said adamantly.

"You keep telling yourself that" He smiled as he got up. "Now, I do believe you guys have to go to the airport."

I walked out to see Big Steve standing at the door. He had laid low while we were here. He didn't see much of a need to follow us around at a funeral.

We started saying our goodbyes to Aro, Jake, and Lily. I felt a tug at my jeans and I looked down into the big brown eyes of the girl I've become quite fond of the past few days.

"I'll miss you Edward" she said quietly. I bent down to her level and gave her a hug.

"I'll miss you too, kiddo" I told her.

"Take care of my Aunt Bella, ok?" she asked me with an innocent look on her face.

"Will do" I gave her another hug and put her down.

"I'm expecting tickets to the first show of the tour…" Jake said as he hugged Bella.

"Yeah, yeah….you've already told me that Jake" She smiled at him. She moved on to say goodbye to Lily and I couldn't help but smile at how she acted with her. Jake caught me staring and smiling-he smirked at me and winked as I passed him.

"Tell her" he said after Bella had walked out the door.

"Shut it, Jake…there's nothing to tell" I said over my shoulder as I left. I heard my brothers laugh behind me.

Everyone got into the car to go to the airport and Bella put her head on my shoulder.

"So what did my brother want to talk to you about?" She asked.

"He just wanted to thank me for taking care of you" I answered. It was the truth….mostly.

"Really?" She kinked an eyebrow.

"Yep"

"Oh, ok." She said as she closed her eyes. After a bit she was asleep and I just kept looking at her.

"Take a picture, it will last longer" Emmet smirked at me.

"Shut it, Em."

Jake had planted a seed in my head and I couldn't get the conversation out of my head. Maybe he's right-maybe I AM falling for her.

* * *

Yeay I'm back! Back to Reality after a little trip… Just back to home 2 hours ago and here I am. how if we make a deal? I'll sleep for a while and update then?

Let me know what you think peops... :)


	8. Chapter 8

**This chapter is a filler...I'm not going to lie **

**The tour is only a month away! I might skip ahead to the tour...I'm not sure yet.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**(Bella POV)  
**

Three weeks later, I was home alone in the apartment. The guys had come over that morning to see if we wanted to go out for breakfast. I was still tired and told them I'd been up half the night writing and to go without me. To be completely honest, I wasn't writing-I tried, but failed miserably. I was extremely bored, so I decided to do some housekeeping around the apartment while I waited for everyone to get back. I had on knee high socks, shorts that came to about mid-thigh, and a tank top. I didn't look very fashionable, but I was just going to be cleaning the house. I walked over to the stereo system to put on some music. I popped in a mix CD and flipped through it until I found a fast song. I smiled as I heard the intro to one of my favorite 80s songs. I couldn't help but start to dance as I was dusting with the feather duster.I just kept dancing around not even thinking about the time or the possibility of being caught looking like an idiot.. It felt good to let loose like I used to. I used to randomly dance when I was upset about something and I hadn't been able to do it in over three years. I involuntarily started singing when the chorus hit…who can help but sing to this so_ng_ guess I had gotten so into it that I didn't hear the door open, or see the four people that walked now I was using the feather duster as a microphone and shaking my butt. I'm actually a fairly good dancer, but you can't dance to this song without being the music faded I started to spin in circles, and I saw three smirks and one huge smile from the doorway.

**(Edward POV)**

"I wish Bella would have come with us this morning" Emmet said.

"She said she was up half the night writing" Jasper said as he shrugged. At this, I noticed that Rosalie looked down.

"She wasn't up writing was she, Rosalie?" I asked. She simply shook her head no.

"I got up to get water late last night and saw a light coming from her room. Her door was open so I peeked in and she was just sitting there staring at a piece of paper. I know she writes when she's upset, but it was like she was trying to force it out. I'm actually kind of worried-she hasn't actually talked much about what happened in Seattle." Rosalie said sadly.

We were walking to the door and we heard "You Spin Me Round" by Dead or Alive coming from inside. Rosalie obviously knew something we didn't because she smiled and put her finger to her lips signaling for us to be quiet. She quietly opened the door and we were met with a sight that made us all smile. Bella was dancing around like a complete idiot singing at the top of her lungs into a feather duster.

"I haven't seen her do this since before her mom died" Rosalie whispered. "It's was she used to do when something was on her mind before she started writing. She used to just dance it out and let loose"

I couldn't help but smirk at her "dancing" because it was more like just rocking her butt back and forth. I looked over and saw similar smirks on my brothers' faces. But Rosalie's just held a huge smile. You could tell when Bella saw us because her eyes got really wide.

**(Bella POV)  
**"How long have you guys been standing there?" I asked with wide eyes.

"Long enough to wish we had a video camera….that would have made a GREAT YouTube video" Emmet said through his smirk.

I couldn't help the blush that crept up my cheeks. All of a sudden Rosalie was jumping on me.

"I haven't seen you have a dance party in so long…remember when we used to both dance around like idiots singing into hairbrushes?" She asked.

"Shut up, Rosalie!" I said. I was really embarrassed that I had been caught doing that.

"Hey, don't be embarrassed…It's good to see you getting back to normal" Edward smiled at me.

"Whatever" I smiled back.

"So, we have news for you Isabella Swan" Emmet said as he poked my side.

"Oh yeah? And what would that news be?"

"Isabella Swan, in honor of your wonderful dance performance, you are the new owner of an interview with KISS 103.7 tomorrow, May 1 with your favorite boy band on the face of the earth!" Emmet said in a game show announcer voice.

"NO WAY! I GET TO MEET THE BACKSTREET BOYS?" I said excitedly as I winked at Edward and Jasper

"No…Us! Wait, I thought WE were your favorite boy band" Emmet pouted.

"Aww, Emmy…you know you're my favorite" I gave him a hug.

"I KNEW IT!" He said excitedly.

"Anyway, as Emmet was saying, KISS 103.7 is interviewing us tomorrow and wants us to bring you with us. Char- um, your _manager _thinks it's a good idea to come with us. He thinks it will be good press for the tour next month." Edward said. That fact that he didn't say the name "Charlie" didn't go unnoticed by me and I really appreciated it.

"Do you think I'm ready to handle an interview?" I asked nervously.

"Of course you are, Bella. Besides, you'll have the guys there with you. At least your first interview won't be alone" Rosalie pointed out.

"Yeah, chances are they'll just be questions about how you got signed and stuff like that" Jasper chimed in.

They do make a point.

"Ok, what time should I be ready?" I smiled nervously.

"We'll pick you guys up at 7:15 and the interview is at 8 AM" Edward said.

"Alright, I'll be ready" I told them. "Now let's watch a movie!" I said to get off the topic of the interview. I was extremely nervous about it.

The next morning came sooner than I wanted it to. Before I knew it I was being ushered into the radio station. I saw Mr. and Mrs. Cullen and went to give them hugs.

"Hi, honey. Are you nervous about the interview?" Esme asked me.

"Am I that obvious?" I asked. Carlisle just chuckled.

"No, I just remember how nervous the boys were when they did their first interview" He smiled as he gave me a hug.

"Hey Bella! Come on, it's time to do the interview" I heard Jasper say. Rosalie gave me a quick hug and I followed the boys in holding my water bottle. My throat tends to get dry when I'm nervous.

"Good morning KISS 103.7 listeners and welcome to the morning show with me, Jimmy. You guys are in for a treat today because not only do I have the Cullens in studio with me today, but they've brought one of their friends that will be joining them on their summer tour- Bella Swan. Welcome to the show guys!"

"Thank you for having us back!" Edward said cheerfully.

"So, your new tour-when does it start?" Jimmy asked us

"June 1 " Jasper answered.

"Are you excited for the tour Bella?" he asked me.

"Yeah, I am. I'm really nervous though because I have this fear of people not liking my music. I put my heart into my new CD and I just want the listeners to like it." I answered honestly.

"Speaking of your CD, what kind of music is on it?"

"Well, there's a mix of genres on there really. It's mostly pop/rock with a few country songs thrown in there for grins" I said.

"Country? That seems like a weird mix with pop/rock, don't you think?" he asked with a slight laugh.

"Well, I'm from Seattle-I had to pay homage to my roots a little bit" I smiled.

"So what do you write about? Boys?"

"Well, I write about what I know and unfortunately my knowledge is limited on that topic. I actually had to borrow from my best friend's dating life for most of them" I laughed.

"Borrow? Why couldn't you use your own experience?" I shot Jasper a look that said 'I thought you said you'd be getting most of the questions'. He smiled apologetically.

"I don't really have that much experience. I've never been kissed before, and I've actually never been on a date" I said kind of shyly. Jimmy stared at me for a minute. I felt Edward's hand on my knee under the table and he gave it a slight squeeze.

"Eh, who says that's a bad thing, right?" Emmet chimed in trying to come to my rescue.

"No, it's not bad…but I mean, you're 19, right?" He asked me.

"Yes, I actually turn 20 in July" I said as I started drinking from my water bottle. I was hoping he'd get the hint to get off the topic.

"Man, maybe you should get one of the guys sitting next to you to give you some experience, huh" He smirked.

I couldn't help it, I spit the water I had in my mouth on the floor next to me. I looked up at the guys and they all had similar reactions to mine minus the water. The room was quiet for a little bit

"Wow, that's potentially awkward" Emmet broke the silence. I couldn't help but smile at his attempt at humor.

"So, about the tour, it starts, like we said on June 1. This time we've decided to start it off in Portland." Jasper tried to change the subject.

"Yeah, that's nice. So I see you have a ring similar to the guys'. Does that mean you're pure as well?"

Wow, how rude can one person get. I looked through the glass and saw the eyes of Rosalie, Carlisle, and esme all widen. I was starting to get flustered and the guys could tell. They looked like they were getting angry at the blatant avoidance of the topic we were here to discuss.

"Obviously, since I haven't even kissed anybody" I said shortly.

"Well, you never know these days. You don't have to be dating or even kissing for that matter. There's other stuff you could-"

"Ok, I hardly think that statement is appropriate" Edward cut him off. I immediately found the lid of my water bottle extremely interesting.

"I'm just saying that you can't possibly be 19, almost 20 and have no experience-much less a date or a kiss. It's impossible" Jimmy said with his hands up in the air.

I looked down and started playing with my ring, trying to hold back the tears that were stinging my eyes. This guy was being downright rude by making such a big deal out of it. I saw Carlisle and Esme exchange a look and Carlisle start talking to someone out of the corner of my eye.

"And quite frankly, I buy her story about as much as I buy that you three are all still virgins" Jimmy said.

At that moment the door opened.

"Hi, we've got to get the boys to another location, so I'm afraid the interview is over." The voice of the boys' assistant rang out.

"Oh, ok-well, it was nice talking to you guys and it was wonderful to meet you Bella. I hope you'll all come back soon" He smiled at us like he had said nothing offensive at all in the past 15 minutes.

We all filed out and Esme immediately pulled me into a hug.

"I'm so sorry your first interview was with a jerk" She said in my ear.

"It's ok. I kinda figured it was coming after I made the comment I did about my lack of experience. I probably shouldn't have said that" I told her as we walked to the door.

"No, you were making a joke about having to borrow from your friend's life. That gave him no right to jump on the topic like that" Edward said as he put an arm around me.

Emmet was mumbling something about their rings and how blatently disrespectful the guy was and Jasper was just really quiet.

We walked through the mob of fans and the guys stopped to sign a few autographs. But this time, I heard shouts of "He's a jerk! Don't listen to him" mixed in with the shouts of "Marry me Emmet". I smiled slightly.

"You know what I think you need right now?" Rosalie asked us once we reached the car. We all shook our heads no.

"A DANCE PARTY!"

We all chuckled at the suggestion until Emmet spoke.

"I can dig it" he said.

At that we all busted out laughing as we pulled away from the station. Even Big S joined in.

* * *

**Can you believe my husband had that ring before we're married.. he is 22-year-old and wearing promise ring.. :)  
**

**You should make my day and review...**


	9. Chapter 9

**(Bella POV)**

It was now the day before the first show of the tour and we were in getting used to the stage and rehearsing. I had met with my band in the past month and gone over all of the songs. At the moment, we were busy teaching the guys' band "Good Time" because we had decided that they would call me back out during their set to do our duet. Rosalie was currently on the phone with her dad talking about coming to the show tomorrow.

"So I'll see you tomorrow, then?" I heard Rosalie say. She smiled and said "Ok daddy-I love you too".

A few minutes after she hung up my phone rang. I looked down at the caller ID and saw the face of my brother staring back at me. I was really excited to see him and Lily tomorrow.

"Jake! I can't wait to see you guys tomorrow!" I said excitedly into the phone.

"Yeah, that's what I actually called to talk to you about" He said softly.

"You aren't coming are you" I said sadly.

"Bella, we really want to-we just couldn't get a flight. I'm so sorry…I'm sure you'll do great, though" he said.

"It's ok, Jake. I'm sure it will be up on youtube or something"

"I'm really sorry Bella, you know I would be there if I could"

"It's really fine…but hey I've got to go back to rehearsal. We're testing out the stage. Bye" I said. I hung up before he could answer…I wasn't sure if I could hide the signs of me crying much longer. I just threw my phone on the stage next to me. Rosalie had apparently heard everything and shot me a sympathetic look as the guys were walking onto the stage. I just stood up and walked by them ignoring them when they said my name. As usual, Edward followed me.

I walked to what would be my dressing room the next night and didn't have to turn around to know I wasn't alone.

"What's wrong, Bella?"

"They aren't coming"

"Who"

"Jake and Lily"

"But I thought you sent them tickets"

"I did, but he said they couldn't get a flight so they can't come. I love Rosalie's dad, but it isn't the same as having family here" I said softly.

Edward pulled me into a hug and started to rub my back. His phone vibrated in his pocket and he got it out with one hand to read the text message.

**(Edward POV)**

I feel really bad that her brother can't come see her finally get to perform on stage. I smiled and had a bright idea. My phone vibrated and I got it out of my pocket. I opened it to see a text from Emmet I read it over Bella's shoulder.

_Is she ok? Rosalie told us what happened_

Texting with one hand was a little difficult, but I needed to put my plan into motion. I quickly texted Emmet back and filled him in.

_She's upset. I need you to get her phone from the stage and get Jake's number out of it. I'll explain later._

And with that I put my phone back in my pocket and went back to rubbing her back. I couldn't help but smile because of what I was planning.

Later while Bella was rehearsing with her band, I talked to my dad and then called Jake. He didn't know who it was at first, but once he figured out it was me he greeted me.

"So, you told her yet?"

"That's not what I'm calling about, Jake. And besides, I've told you-there's nothing to tell."

I filled him in on my plan and after I was done explaining everything he had to make another comment.

"You've really got it bad, man. What did my sister do to get you under her spell, huh?" He chuckled.

"I'm not under her anything, Jake"

"Uh huh…you keep telling yourself that Edward" He said before he hung up.

**(Bella POV)**

I was nervous-I'll admit it. Tonight was my first show and my brother wasn't going to get to see it. It's sad because he and my mom were always the ones that told me to never give up.

I did sound check with my band and ran through the song with Rosalie. The guys then got up to do their set, and I went up through the stage when it got to "Good Time". After the guys finished their set it was off to catering for dinner before we had to get ready for the show. We opened the door to go eat and I was attacked by a small blur accompanied by a shriek of "AUNT BELLA!"

* * *

**Concert is next!**** Let me know what you think peops... :)  
**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 11

"Lily?" I asked bewildered as I picked her up. I looked over and locked eyes with my brother.

"I thought you said you weren't coming" I told him as I slapped his chest playfully. Then I wrapped my free arm around him and gave him a hug.

"Well, we weren't-but Edward arranged to get us up here" He smiled.

I immediately ran over to Edward and threw my arms around him.

"Thank you" I whispered into his chest. I felt him smile into my hair.

"I couldn't let you have your first big show without your family, now could I?"

I squeezed him even tighter before running off to play with my niece.

We all ate and a couple of hours later I was standing waiting to go on stage. To say I was freaking out would be an understatement.

"Bella, you are going to be great. Quit worrying so much" Emmet laughed as I paced back and forth.

"Yeah, Bella-you're shaking" Jake smirked.

"Bella, you're on" I heard someone say.

Jake,Lily,Rosalie,Jasper,Emmet and Edward gave me a hug. Before he let me go, Edward kissed my forehead and whispered "Knock 'em dead, darlin'" in my ear. I smiled and began to walk to the lift.

I felt the lift begin to rise and the beginning of "Born This Way" start.

I took a deep breath, raised my microphone to my lips, and shouted "What's up Portland?".

When the lift finished rising, I took a deep breath and began to sing.

I looked to the side of the stage as I finished the song and saw six faces grinning back at me.

"How are ya'll doin' tonight?" I said to the crowd. The answered with cheers

I played several more songs and after my song with Rosalie, I looked over to the side of the stage and saw her dad beaming at her as she walked towards him. I performed until I only had three left to go in my set. I knew that the next two would be difficult for me to get through, but I also knew I had to do it.

"I wrote this next song for someone very near and dear to my heart. About three and a half years ago, my mother and I were involved in a car accident when we were hit by a drunk driver. She was taken from me that night and it turned my world upside down" At this I paused for a moment.

"Mom, thank you for never giving up on me-this one's for you" I said softly as the music began to play. I closed my eyes and began to sing.I stood silent for a minute taking it all in. The audience was cheering and some were even crying.

"Thank you guys, so much" I said as I walked over to the piano. "Now, my mother had a song dedicated to her, but I have one dedication left for the night. I wrote this song right after I moved here from my hometown. I wrote this for someone back home. This is for you-you know who you are"

I began to play the introduction to the hardest song I would sing tonight. I was already emotional from the previous song, I was honestly just hoping I could get through this one.

_Dry lightning cracks across the skies_  
_Those storm clouds gather in her eyes_  
_Her daddy was a mean old mister_  
_Mama was an angel in the ground_  
_The weather man called for a twister_  
_She prayed blow it down_

_There's not enough rain in Oklahoma_  
_To wash the sins out of that house_  
_There's not enough wind in Oklahoma_  
_To rip the nails out of the past_

_Shatter every window 'til it's all blown away,_  
_Every brick, every board, every slamming door blown away_  
_'Til there's nothing left standing, nothing left of yesterday_  
_Every tear-soaked whiskey memory blown away,_  
_Blown away_

_She heard those sirens screaming out_  
_Her daddy laid there passed out on the couch_  
_She locked herself in the cellar_  
_Listened to the screaming of the wind_  
_Some people call it taking shelter_  
_She called it sweet revenge_

_Shatter every window 'til it's all blown away,_  
_Every brick, every board, every slamming door blown away_  
_'Til there's nothing left standing, nothing left of yesterday_  
_Every tear-soaked whiskey memory blown away,_  
_Blown away_

_There's not enough rain in Oklahoma_  
_To wash the sins out of that house_  
_There's not enough wind in Oklahoma_  
_To rip the nails out of the past_

_Shatter every window 'til it's all blown away (blown away)_  
_Every brick, every board, every slamming door blown away (blown away)_  
_'Til there's nothing left standing, nothing left of yesterday (blown away)_  
_Every tear-soaked whiskey memory blown away,_

_Blown away, blown away, blown away, blown away, blown away_

I couldn't help it. A few tears had fallen down my face as I was singing. The audience had noticed so I tried to make a joke to ease the tension as I stood from the piano.

"Wow, I think I might need to consider changing the order of the songs in my set" I laughed. The audience laughed a little bit as well and it made me smile.

"Now, I was informed by our very own DJ Breaker that this last song was in need of a tambourine. So, just for grins I've decided to throw it in there." The intro to my last song began to play. "This song is for all of you tonight-don't let anything hold you back"

_And it's a sad picture  
The final blow hits you_  
_Somebody else gets  
What you wanted  
It can't end_

_You know it's all the same_  
_Another time and place_  
_Repeating history_  
_And you're getting sick of it_

_But I believe_  
_In whatever you do_  
_And I'll do anything_  
_To see it through_

I started shaking the tambourine against my leg._  
Because these_  
_Things will change_  
_We can feel it now_  
_These walls_  
_That they put up_  
_To hold us back_  
_Will fall down_  
_It's a revolution_  
_The time will come_  
_For us to finally win_  
_And we'll sing hallelujah_  
_We'll sing hallelujah_  
_Oh_

_So we've been_  
_Out numbered_  
_Raided and out cornered_  
_It's hard to fight_  
_When the_  
_fight ain't fair_

_We're getting_  
_Stronger now_  
_Find things_  
_They never found_  
_They might be bigger_  
_But we're faster_  
_And never scared_

_We can walk away_  
_say, "We don't need this"_  
_But there's something in your eyes_  
_(that) says we can beat this_

_Because these_  
_Things will change_  
_We can feel it now_  
_These walls_  
_That they put up_  
_To hold us back_  
_Will fall down_  
_It's a revolution_  
_The time will come_  
_For us to finally win_

_And we'll sing hallelujah_  
_We'll sing hallelujah_  
_Oh_

During the instrumental break I let loose and just rocked out on the tambourine trying to get the crowd into it. I just let myself have my own mini dance party to get rid of all the emotion from the last two songs.

_Tonight we'll stand_  
_and get off our knees_  
_Fight for what we've_  
_Worked for all these years_  
_And the battle was long_  
_It's the fight of our lives_  
_And we'll stand up_  
_Champions tonight_

_It was the night things changed_  
_Can see it now_  
_These walls that they_  
_put up to hold us back_  
_fell down_  
_It's a revolution_  
_Throw your hands up_  
_Cause we never gave in_

_And we'll sing hallelujah_  
_We sang hallelujah_  
_HallelujahHallelujah_

The crowd cheered and I bowed.

"Thank you, Portland! Now, the people you've all been waiting for…please welcome THE CULLENS!" I yelled into the microphone. I left the stage as the boys were coming up on the lifts to "Up All Night".

When I got backstage, my brother immediately pulled me into a hug.

"Mom would be so proud of you right now, Bella…I know I am" Jake whispered in my ear. I pulled away from the hug to look at him. There were tears in his eyes that mirrored my own.

Rosalie was next to pull me in, followed by Aro.

"I'm so proud of you for making your dreams come true, Bella. I'm happy I could see it happen" Aro said as he kissed my forehead.

Carlisle and Esme each gave me a hug as well. I felt a tug on my jeans and immediately bent down to scoop up my favorite three-year-old on the planet. Rosalie and I busied ourselves dancing to the guys' part of the concert. Emmet winked and smirked at us once when he caught us dancing around like idiots backstage. We just smiled back and kept dancing.

It came time for the guys to do "One Thing" and our duet was next. They had said earlier that they were going to pick a little girl from the audience to sing part of the song with them. However, when it came time for that part in the song Emmet started to walk backstage instead of to the audience. He picked Lily up and carried her out onto the stage. Listening to her sing the song with him was the cutest thing I've ever seen. When they finished, Emmet gave her a hug and whispered something in her ear. Then he put the microphone to her lips.

"Aunt Bella! It's time for you to sing again!" she said with a giggle. There was a collective 'Awwwww' from the audience.

"Bella, I do believe your niece is paging you to the stage" Edward chuckled into the microphone. I walked onto the stage and went up to tickle Lily's stomach.

"Well, I don't think there's a better introduction than that" I laughed. "Come on shortcake. Let's go back to your dad." I started to walk offstage as the intro to "Good Time" started and Big Steve met me halfway.

(**Bella , **Emmet_**Both**_)

**Whoa-oh-oh-oh**  
It's always a good time  
**Whoa-oh-oh-oh**  
It's always a good time

Woke up on the right side of the bed  
What's up with this Prince song inside my head?  
Hands up if you're down to get down tonight  
_**'Cause it's always a good time**_

Slept in all my clothes like I didn't care  
Hopped into a cab, take me anywhere  
I'm in if you're down to get down tonight  
'_**Cause it's always a good time**_

**Good morning and good night**  
**I'll wake up at twilight**  
_**It's gonna be alright**_  
_**We don't even have to try**_  
_**It's always a good time**_

_**Whoa-oh-oh-oh Whoa-oh-oh-oh**_  
_**It's always a good time**_  
_**Whoa-oh-oh-oh Whoa-oh-oh-oh**_  
_**We don't even have to try, it's always a good time.**_

**Freaked out, dropped my phone in the pool again**  
**Checked out of my room, hit the ATM**  
**Let's hang out if you're down to get down tonight**  
**'Cause it's always a good time**

Good morning and good night  
**I'll wake up at twilight**  
_**It's gonna be alright**_  
We don't even have to try  
It's always a good time.

_**Whoa-oh-oh-oh Whoa-oh-oh-oh**_  
_**It's always a good time**_  
_**Whoa-oh-oh-oh Whoa-oh-oh-oh**_  
_**We don't even have to try, it's always a good time.**_

Doesn't matter when  
It's always a good time then  
**Doesn't matter where**  
**It's always a good time there**

Doesn't matter when,  
It's always a good time then

_**Whoa-oh-oh-oh Whoa-oh-oh-oh**_  
_**It's always a good time**_  
_**Whoa-oh-oh-oh Whoa-oh-oh-oh**_  
_**We don't even have to try, it's always a good time.**_

"Give it up one more time for Bella Swan, everybody!" Emmet said as he gave me a hug. The other two boys gave me a hug as well before I ran back boys finished up the show with Rosalie and me dancing around backstage again. They did their encore songs and when the show was finally over, I was attacked in a Cullen mob."You. Were. AWESOME!" Emmet said quite loudly. I couldn't help but laugh at his enthusiasm."Thanks, Emmy…you were too. I'm pretty sure you made Lily's year by taking her out on the stage" I smiled at him. Lily grinned up at him."Thanks for being my partner in crime, Lily" Emmet bent down to her level and gave her a high five. That little stinker…she teamed up with him?The boys went to do their meet and greet and I hung out with my brother in my dressing room. The boys got back and we decided to go grab food we started walking to the bus, I felt an arm come around my shoulders."You really were amazing tonight, Bella" I looked up to see Edward smiling at me."Thanks, Edward. I was serious when I said I might need to change the order of my songs a bit. I don't know if I can do those two songs back to back again. I barely made it through the one for my dad.""Ok." He said as he kissed my forehead. I put my head on his shoulder as we walked to the bus. We separated when we got to the door so we wouldn't cause any rumors. I made it to the bus first because the boys got held up by fans. I was sitting on the bus waiting for them when my brother sat down next to me."So, you two dating yet?""Jake, for the last time there is nothing going on between me and Edward""Uh huh, you keep telling yourself that, kiddo" he said as the guys walked onto the bus."Wow, what did you say to her Jake her face matches Emmet's jeans" Jasper chuckled. I guess my face really was as red as it felt. "Nothing. He said nothing…I'm just hot" I said.

"That you are" Emmet smirked. I could feel my face getting redder.

I got up and walked to my bunk with only one question going through my head. Could my brother be right?

No. There is absolutely no way I'm falling for my best friend…is there?

**Dun Dun Dun...**

**So ****Bella**** had her first concert...tell me what you think abou tit and about the blatant denial from both ****Edward**** AND ****Bella ****about what everyone seems to see but them.**

**I don't own Blown away by Carrie Underwood , Change by Taylor Swift , Good Time**** by ****Owl City feat Carly Rae**

**That means review... :)**


	11. Chapter 11

**(Bella POV)**

The next morning we took Jake, Lily and Aro to the airport. Aro had a commercial flight at noon and my brother and niece were returning to Texas in the Cullen Private Jet.(**AN:** Jake and Lily don't live in Bella's home town)

There were paparazzi at the airport-I'm not sure how they knew we'd be there, but they found out somehow. They probably caught every single goodbye on film.

Aro pulled me into a hug and told me how proud he was of me again, and then did the same to Rosalie.

"It was nice to meet you all" He said to the Cullen family as he shook their hands. Before he turned to walk away, I heard him add on "You boys take care of my girls, you hear?"

The boys nodded their heads and smiled. Aro gave us a smile and a small wave before walking away.

We then took Jake and Lily to where they would board the Jet. I watched Jasper and Emmet bend down to give Lily a high five and a hug. She smiled at them and said goodbye. She went to tell Edward goodbye and he scooped her up in his arms and tickled her stomach. She giggled at him and threw her arms around his neck.

'He's really good with kids. He's going to make a good father someday' I thought to myself. Wait…why am I thinking that?

I felt an arm go around my shoulder as Jake pulled me into a hug.

"I love you, kiddo" He said into my hair.

"I love you too, snotface" I said into his shirt. I heard him scoff at my childhood nickname for him.

"Haven't I outgrown that nickname yet?"

"Never" I smiled at him. It was quiet for a minute and we just stood there hugging a bit longer.

"Hey, Bells?"

"Yeah Jake?"

"Don't be afraid to love him, ok? He's a good guy and he cares a lot about you. I can see it in his eyes"

And for the first time, I didn't argue with him about Edward and me.

"Ok" I said softly and I felt him smile into my hair.

I scooped Lily up after I broke from the hug and kissed her forehead and tickled her stomach. She giggled and kissed my nose.

"Now you be good for your daddy, ok?"

"Ok" she said with a smile. She gave me one last hug as I heard my brother saying his goodbyes to the Cullenses.

"Carlisle,Esme-it was very nice to meet you" he said as he shook their hands. "Boys, it was very nice to see again, I'm sure I'll see you soon." When he shook Edward's hand I heard him softly add "Take care of her for me, Edward"

Edward nodded and said "Sure thing, Jake. Have a safe flight home" And with that my brother and my niece walked away and boarded the plane.

That night, I was having trouble getting to sleep. We were on our way to San Diego for the next show and I was just staring at the ceiling of my bunk. I flipped open my phone and inwardly groaned when I saw that it was 2 AM. I opened my curtain and walked to the back room of the bus. I plopped down on the couch and started thinking about everything. This is the problem that I have…when there is too much silence, I start to think.

I started thinking about my mom, and how much I wish she could have been there last night to see me perform. I started thinking about how I wish my father wasn't an abusive alcoholic. I remembered the times where he used to be a part of my cheering section instead of tearing me down. I thought about Lily and how unfair it is that she only got three years with her mother. I thought about the rush I got from being onstage, and how blessed I am to have the opportunity to perform. Finally, I thought about Edward and if there was a possibility that I could actually be falling for him.

I was so caught up in the mumbo jumbo in my head that I didn't notice someone sitting next to me, or the fact that I was crying until I felt someone wipe the tears from my face.

"Why are you up?" I heard Edward whisper.

"I couldn't sleep"

"Why are you crying"

"I was thinking about how much I wish my mom could have been there to see me last night." That was most of the truth…I couldn't very well tell him that I was thinking about him.

"She did see you. I bet she was smiling down at you the whole entire time screaming her head off and annoying all the other angels" I couldn't help but laugh at that.

"Thanks, Edward." I smiled at him. "Wait, why are YOU up?" I asked him.

"I couldn't sleep. Too much on my mind" he answered.

"You want to talk about it?"

He didn't answer-he just looked at me.

"Is there something on my face?" I asked him. I couldn't figure out why he was just staring at me…he's never done that before. He chuckled before he responded.

"No, I'm just thinking about how strong you are…and how awesome your performance was last night" he smiled.

"Oh, well thank you, then" I answered.

**(Edward POV)**

"Wait, why are YOU up?" She asked me.

"I couldn't sleep. Too much on my mind" I answered without thinking.

"You want to talk about it?" she asked me. I didn't know what to say. I did want to talk about it, but 2 AM on a tour bus is hardly the right time for it. I guess I was staring at her while I was thinking this, and I guess it worried her.

"Is there something on my face?" She asked me while rubbing her face. I couldn't help but chuckle when I realized I'd been staring at her. I couldn't help but chuckle because even if there was something on her face, she'd still be the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. Wait, did I just think that about my best friend? That's not good.

"No, I'm just thinking about how strong you are…and how performance was last night" I smiled. All truths…none of that was actually on my mind at the moment, but they were still true facts.

"Oh, well thank you then" she said as a small blush crept up her cheeks. I loved making her blush, my brothers did too. She always blushed at the slightest compliment. Emmet's favorite is telling her she's hot…that gets her to blush every time.

"I think I'm going to try to go to sleep" she said softly as she gave me a hug.

"Ok, goodnight Bella" I said as I kissed her forehead. I watched her walk back to her bunk wishing I could tell her that SHE is what's on my mind.

**(Bella POV)**

****I awoke the next morning to a sudden weight shift in my bunk. I cracked open my eye to see Edward lying beside me.

"It's time to get up, Bella" he said.

"Too early, more sleep" I grumbled and buried my face in my pillow. At this, Edward brushed the hair out of my eyes.

After a few minutes of silence, He spoke again.

"Hey Bella?"

"Mmmhmmm" I still had my eyes closed.

"Can I talk to you about something?" I opened my eyes at this question and looked at him hoping for some sign for what it was about.

"Sure, what about?" I asked him.

"I really think I-"

"What?! There's a party in your bunk and we didn't get invited? I feel slighted" Emmet interrupted as he and Jasper walked up.

I saw Edward shoot Emmet a look out of the corner of my eye.

"I do too, I think we should crash it. What do you think Em?" Jasper asked.

At this they traded a look and jumped on Edward and me. It was actually kind of painful and I couldn't help but let out a loud 'OW' as they landed. Edward looked almost angry, and we couldn't move until they got up.

"Boys, I'm sure you are probably crushing poor Bella, get off of her" I heard Esme say with a laugh. Jasper and Emmet got off of me, but Edward stayed.

"So, you were saying?" I asked him.

"Nothing…it's not important" he said as he kissed my forehead and rolled out of my bunk.

Weird.

A few seconds later I heard an "Ow! What was that for?" from Emmet and Jasper. I couldn't help but chuckle at Edward's punishment for them for jumping on us as I walked to the bathroom to shower.

**(Edward POV)  
**Well, that didn't go as planned. I walked into the kitchen at the front of the bus and shot glares at my brothers. They snickered and I just smacked them both up beside the head.

"Ow!" Emmet exclaimed.

"What was that for?" Jasper asked. He and Emmet were both rubbing the back of their heads.

I waited until I heard the bathroom door shut and the shower turn on until I spoke. I didn't want to risk Bella hearing me. I didn't have to worry about Rosalie because somehow she was still asleep.

"I was going to tell her. I was about to when you guys jumped on us" I said through my teeth at them. "You guys are supposed to be my wingmen and you screwed it up"

Emmet started laughing as he said "Dude, I figured that's what you were doing-but I didn't figure that it was very good to tell her that you THINK you MIGHT like her while you were in bed with her"

I hadn't realized that. That had been a bad idea.

"Yeah, you're probably right." I said as I hung my head.

"Are you sure you want to tell her? Wouldn't it be better to wait until you're sure?" Jasper asked me.

"Yeah, I guess so"

And honestly, the more I think about it, the more I realize they are right. I really don't want to risk messing up our friendship, especially if I'm not 100% sure about it.

I hate it when my younger brothers are right.

**(Bella POV)**

That night's concert went really well. I switched around the songs in my set so the end wasn't so hard to get through. I was incredibly surprised to see people singing along with some of my songs. I guess people had already put them on YouTube. Wow, those kids work fast, huh?

I got to meet one of the guys' friends. Alice Brandon came to the concert tonight, and I must say that she was a sweetheart.

The concert ended reasonably early and we decided to go get some food. We ended up at this little restaurant that had karaoke.

"Uh oh" I said

"What" Alice answered.

"There's Karaoke….this could be interesting" everyone laughed as we walked inside.

We were seated as a girl finished up a horrendous version of "Girls Just Want To Have Fun". Everyone at our table involuntarily cringed at the last note because it was so off pitch. By now people had recognized us, but it was mainly an older crowd so there weren't many people that came up for autographs-it was nice. It was decided that we would all do karaoke, and Emmet decided he was going to go first.

"Where's Edward?" I asked as I sat down.

"He went to go sing" Emmet answered.

Hmm, I wonder what song he's going to sing. He doesn't usually sing by himself much. Too bad, he has an incredible voice.

He walked onto the stage and the music started. I was holding the camera so I could capture this moment for his fans. I was smiling as I realized what song he was singing. I love The Fray.

_She doesn't look, she doesn't see  
Opens up for nobody  
Figures out, she figures out  
Narrow line, she can't decide  
Everything short of suicide  
Never hurts, nearly works_

_Something is scratching its way out_  
_Something you want to forget about_

The rest of the table was cheering for him, but I was just staring. He was looking at me the whole time he was singing. Surely he didn't pick that for me, right?  
_  
A part of you that'll never show  
You're the only one that'll ever know  
Take it back when it all began  
Take your time, would you understand  
What it's all about  
What it's all about_

_Something is scratching its way out_  
_Something you want to forget about_  
_No one expects you to get up_  
_All on your own with no one around_

_Something is scratching its way out  
Something you want to forget about  
No one expects you to get up  
All on your own with no one around_

As he finished singing everyone cheered…I couldn't help but smile and cheer because he sounded so dang good.

Jasper got up and sang a Johnny Cash song and I yet again caught it on tape.

We started heading back to the bus. We were sitting in the car when my phone buzzed signaling I had a text.

_**What's going on with you and Edward?**_

It was from Alice. Before I could get an answer typed in, my phone buzzed again. This time it was from Rosalie.

_**So, You and Edward huh?**_

I sighed and texted the same thing to her as I did to Alice telling them we'd talk about it later on the bus. Alice was riding with us because our next stop was LA.

"You know, you guys could just talk" Emmet said from the front.

"But then you guys would know what we were saying" Alice quipped back. At that Emmet grabbed her phone and read the message she had sent.

"Oh…so THAT'S why you don't want us to hear it" he smirked at me.

"Emmet…" I warned.

He put his hands up in surrender and chuckled slightly.

"I'm just kidding Nay-Nay" he said.

"Nay-Nay? You should NEVER call me that again" I laughed. He pouted, but I still told him that I'd hurt him if he ever did call me that again.

When we got back to the bus, I stayed outside with Alice and Rosalie so we could talk like I promised. We didn't have much time because we had to leave soon, but I couldn't talk about it in the bus.

"So, what's going on? Spill" Alice said.

"To be honest, I don't know if I like him like that. He has quickly become one of my best friends. He's seen me at my worst"

Rosalie opened her mouth to respond but I cut her off.

"No, R-worse than what you've seen me at. He knows some stuff about me that no one else does. He can calm me down faster than anyone I know and I haven't felt that safe in anyone's arms since before my mother died" I said softly.

"So you like him" Rosalie smirked.

"I don't know, Ro. And even if I did, I don't know if I'd ever actually do anything about it. I don't want to screw up our friendship. I don't know what I would do if I lost that."

The two girls gave me a hug as we heard Emmet yell that we had to leave.

We decided to watch a movie, but halfway through I got up and went to my bunk. I needed to think. I hadn't been in my bunk more than 10 minutes before I felt the weight shift on my bunk. I felt an arm come around my waist, and for the first time it sent shivers up my spine. I rolled over to see Edward and he chuckled.

"Are you cold or something?" He asked.

Cold? Oh…I guess he felt me shiver earlier and the goose bumps that his touched caused. I couldn't very well tell him that it was because of him, though. Being cold was a perfect excuse.

"What? Oh, yeah…a little" I responded. At those words he pulled me to him close and pulled the covers up around us.

"Penny for your thoughts?" He asked me after a bit. Shit. I wasn't expecting him to ask me what was on my mind.

"Just thinking" Maybe he'll drop it.

"About your mom?"

"No. You." Oh God…what did I just say? That, ladies and gentlemen is word vomit at its best.

"Me? What about me?"

"Oh, just that you have seen me at my worst and you still didn't run away. You know about how I used to deal with things, yet you're still here. I'm just trying to figure out why. I was thinking about how I don't deserve friends as great as you" That was a good enough cover, right? I mean it's not like it's a complete lie…I DO wonder that.

"As far as you not deserving us, I never want to hear you say that again, because you do do-actually, you deserve so much more. And how could you even think I'd ever run away from you? Nothing you could ever do or say would make me run away from you." He said softly into my hair.

"Edward?" I said into his shirt.

"Yeah?"

Here comes the word vomit again. "I think I'm falling for you". It was dead silent. I could hear the dialogue from the movie in the other room. Great, I'm stupid.

"I think I'm falling for you too" he said softly as he lifted my head up. He looked into my eyes and leaned forward. I could feel his breath on my lips and closed my eyes as I felt his lips brush over mine. It was everything I could have asked for in a first kiss. He pulled away and ran his hand over my face.

"Bella, it's time to get up" he whispered.

Wait, what? What is he talking about? We just got back from karaoke.

"Bella, we're in LA…it's time to wake up" I opened my eyes to see Edward staring at me.

"What?"

"It's time to wake up. It's morning, and we're in LA."

"Oh…ok" he kissed my forehead and left to get dressed.

I stared up at the ceiling of my bunk and groaned, my skin still tingling where his lips had been moments before.

That was all a dream? Great…this means I AM falling for my best friend.

I'm screwed.

* * *

**I know...you all absolutely hate me now. I'm sorry...but I had to have her figure it out somehow.**

**I do not own the songs "Little House" by The Fray**

**Review! They'll make me update faster :)**


	12. Chapter 12

**(Bella POV)**

I tried to avoid Edward all day that day because I had flashbacks to my dream last night every time I looked at him.

Because we were in LA, all of the Eclipse Record stars came out to the show. I met a lot of the people that I've watched on TV and admired for the longest time. We all hung out before the show and I was quite ok with that because it made it easy to avoid Edward. He accidentally brushed my arm and it sent shivers up my spine. I immediately pulled my arm away from him and walked off.

"Bella" I heard him yell, but I just kept walking.

I just let everything go once I got on that stage. When I got to "Fearless" however, it was hard for me to sing because of the confusion about how I was feeling at the moment.

"How many of you have that one person that when they're with you, you feel like you're fearless and that nothing can hurt you?" I asked the audience. I was met with screams. "This is for you" I told them.

_There's something about the way_  
_The street looks when it's just rained_  
_There's a glow off the pavement_  
_You walk me to the car_  
_And you know I want to ask you to dance right there_  
_In the middle of the parking lot_  
_Yeah_

_We're drivin' down the road_  
_I wonder if you know_  
_I'm tryin' so hard not to get caught up now_  
_But you're just so cool_  
_Run your hands through your hair_  
_Absentmindedly makin' me want you_

_And I don't know how it gets better than this_  
_You take my hand and drag me head first_  
_Fearless_  
_And I don't know why but with you I`d dance_  
_In a storm in my best dress_  
_Fearless_

_So baby drive slow_  
_'Til we run out of road in this one horse town_  
_I wanna stay right here in this passenger's seat_  
_You put your eyes on me_  
_In this moment now capture it, remember it_

_And I don't know how it gets better than this_  
_You take my hand and drag me head first_  
_Fearless_  
_And I don't know why but with you I'd dance_  
_In a storm in my best dress_  
_Fearless_

_Well you stood there with me in the doorway_  
_My hands shake_  
_I'm not usually this way but_  
_You pull me in and I'm a little more brave_  
_It's the first kiss,_  
_It's flawless,_  
_Really something,_  
_It's fearless._

I couldn't help but think of my dream last night when I closed my eyes as I sang that. I truly feel fearless when I am in Edward's arms and that is a scary thing to me. I opened my eyes and finished the song looking out at the Eclipse Star that were sitting by the soundboard. They were all smiling back at me…especially Alice.

_Oh yeah_  
_And I don't know how it gets better than this_  
_You take my hand and drag me head first_  
_Fearless_  
_And I don't know why but with you I would dance_  
_In a storm in my best dress_  
_Fearless_

_oh, oh_

I took off my guitar and grabbed the microphone from the stand and started to segue into my next song.

"I wrote this next song for my mother after she was killed by a drunk driver three years ago." I paused as the intro started.

"Mom-thank you for never giving up on me-this one's for you" I closed my eyes and begin to sing. I really needed my mom right now, and I could feel her during this song.  
I soaked in the cheers of the audience as I went back to pick up my guitar. After the cheers died down a little bit, I introduced Rosalie.

"I co-wrote this song with one of my best friends-do you guys want to hear her sing?" I heard the audience cheer and Rosalie walked out from backstage. I smiled at her as the intro to our song started.

**(October **_Brynna __**Both**_**)**

**The day I first met you  
You told me you'd never fall in love  
But now that I get you  
I know fear is what it really was  
**  
_Now here we are  
So close yet so far  
Haven't I passed the test  
When will you realize  
Baby, I'm not like the rest  
_  
_**Don't wanna break your heart  
Wanna give your heart a break  
I know you're scared it's wrong  
Like you might make a mistake  
There's just one life to live  
And there's no time to wait, to waste  
So let me give your heart a break, give your heart a break  
Let me give your heart a break, your heart a break  
Oh yeah, yeah  
**_  
_On Sunday you went home alone  
There were tears in your eyes  
I called your cell phone, my love  
But you did not reply  
_**  
The world is ours if we want it  
We can take it if you just take my hand  
There's no turning back now  
Baby, try to understand  
**_**  
Don't wanna break your heart  
Wanna give your heart a break  
I know you're scared it's wrong  
Like you might make a mistake  
There's just one life to live  
And there's no time to wait, to waste  
So let me give your heart a break, give your heart a break  
Let me give your heart a break, your heart a break**_

There's just so much you can take  
Give your heart a break  
Let me give your heart a break, your heart a break  
Oh yeah, yeah

**When your lips are on my lips  
And our hearts beat as one  
But you slip out of my fingertips  
Every time you run, whoa-oh-whoa-oh-oh  
**  
_Don't wanna break your heart  
Wanna give your heart a break  
I know you're scared it's wrong  
_  
_**Like you might make a mistake  
There's just one life to live  
And there's no time to wait, to waste  
So let me give your heart a break  
(Let me give your heart a break)**_

'Cause you've been hurt before  
I can see it in your eyes  
You try to smile it away, some things you can't disguise  
Don't wanna break your heart  
Maybe, I can ease the ache, the ache  
So let me give your heart a break, give your heart a break  
Let me give your heart a break, your heart a break

**The day I first met you  
You told me you'd never fall in love**

Rosalie walked over and gave me a hug as I yelled "Rosalie Hale everybody!"

Rosalie waved at the crowd and I walked over to the piano. I sang the song for my dad, making myself cry, again. I don't think I've ever sung that song without crying. I followed that up with "Love Story" and ended with "Change".

"Thank you LA! And now, please welcome THE CULLENS!" I yelled.

The crowed went crazy and I left the stage to the beginning notes of "Kiss You". I wasn't really in the mood to dance backstage like I usually did so I just sat on the couch backstage and watched the concert until "One Thing" started.

I then stood up and got ready to go back onstage to sing my duet with the guys. I heard Emmet call me back out and I put on a smile and walked out waving as the intro to "Good Time" started. I didn't go over to jam out with Edward like I usually do-I just either hung out with Emmet or sang to the audience.

I walked back offstage and went to sit back on the couch for the rest of the show. After a while Rosalie came over and sat next to me.

"What's going on" She just skipped right to the point. Of course.

"What do you mean?" I decided to act oblivious.

"Why are you avoiding Edward?"

"I'm not"

"Yes, you are Bella. Every time he's come within spitting distance of you you've run away. What happened?"

"I had a dream last night and quite frankly it scared me."

"Another one about your dad?"

"No…it was about Edward"

"Ok?"

"I had a dream that I told him how I liked him and he felt the same way. And then he kissed me"

"So why are you avoiding him"

"Because I fell for him and it hurts to look at him because all I see is a flashback to the dream" I said right as the boys were running offstage.

I headed to my dressing room to shower because we were hanging out with the Eclipse crew tonight…I think we were going to go bowling or something. I was almost to my dressing room when I heard my name being called. I just kept walking and got my shower.

Bowling was extremely fun. I was able to avoid talking to Edward. I knew I was probably confusing him and hurting him, but I didn't know what else to do.I had told Alice about the dream and she told me that I can't avoid him forever.

"Bella, I know it sucks, but I can see in his eyes how much you're hurting him right now-whether you are meaning to or not" She told me as she hugged me goodbye.

"Keep me informed, ok?"

"Ok, I will"

Later that night on the bus I was in my bunk staring at the ceiling. I saw the curtain being pulled open out of the corner of my eye.

"Bella?" he said.

"Yes Edward?"

"Can I talk to you?"I sighed and nodded my head. He crawled into my bunk and shut the curtain.

"Are you mad at me?" I heard him ask quietly.

"No, I'm not mad at you Edward" I sighed. I couldn't bring myself to look in his eyes, though.

"Then why are you not looking in my eyes?"

"I can't"

"Why not? You've always been able to before"

"Because every time I look at you I flash back to the dream I had last night" I said quietly.

"Why"

"Because it was about you" I said as I rolled over to where my back was facing him.

"What about me?" He said as he started to put his arm around my waist. I tensed up a little at this movement because of what it reminded me of. He had done the same thing in my dream. I guess he felt it because he slowly moved his arm.

"Bella, what was your dream about" he asked me with a bit of worry in his voice.

"I don't want to talk about it, Edward" I said

"I didn't hurt you, did I" he said softly. The tone in his voice was hard for me to hear. The fact that he thinks I would even have him hurt me in my dreams broke my heart.

"No, Edward"

"Then why are you tensing up every time I touch you?" Is he seriously not going to give this up? I sat up in my bunk so I could get out if I needed to. I could feel the word vomit working its way up my throat and I had a feeling I would need to run after it all spewed out.

"Because somewhere along the line I fell for you. Because the dream I had last night was about us making out. Because I feel safe for the first time since my mother died every time I'm in your arms, and quite frankly all of this scares the living daylights out of me. I'm not tensing up because you scare me-I'm tensing up because the way you make me feel scares me. Is that a good enough reason for you?" I said as I started crying.

I got up and ran to the bathroom. I shut the door and sat on the floor by the shower. That is not how I intended to tell him. I didn't even intend to tell him tonight. Everything is ruined now. There was a knock on the door, but I just kept crying and didn't answer. They knocked again.

"Bella, can I please come in?"

I still didn't answer. The door slowly opened and Edward stepped in and shut the door behind him. He wordlessly came and sat down next to me and pulled me into his lap with his arms wrapped around me.

"Why are you crying"

"Because I ruined everything. Falling for your best friend always just makes things complicated, especially when the feelings aren't returned"

"Now who said they weren't returned?" I raised my head from his chest and just looked at him.

"You mean-"

"Yeah, I fell for you at some point too, Bella. You didn't ruin anything by falling for me…that would require there being a possibility to ever ruin our friendship." I smiled into his chest when he said that.

"So where does this leave us?" I asked quietly.

"I don't know. I think we should take it slow and not rush into anything and just see where it goes. I do like you a lot though. I realized how much while you were avoiding me today."

"I'm sorry about that, it's just every time I looked at you I had flashbacks"

"Yeah, how was that dream kiss anyway?" He smirked at me.

"It was the best imaginary first kiss ever" we both chuckled as he leaned in and kissed my forehead. He helped me up and we walked back to the bunks. I crawled into my bunk and was surprised when he followed me in. I just stopped and shot him a weird look.

"What, we have more to talk about. We need to figure out where we stand" he said as he got under the covers.

I just rolled my eyes because I knew I would be asleep as soon as I lay down. I only remember having one thought before I fell asleep.

I just told him I fell for him, he said he fell for me too-and it wasn't a dream.

* * *

**This was not a dream this time. They actually did admit to their feelings. They didn't kiss,but their feelings are out in the open. I had to do it...I felt horrible that I made her avoid him the whole day.**

**Review!**


	13. Chapter 13

**This chapter was very hard for me to write because of the content. **

**I hope you guys aren't TOO mad at me by the end of the chapter.**

* * *

Two weeks after Edward and I had our "bathroom confessions" we were in Austin, Texas. We had the day off before our show the next night. We had all decided to go shopping.

I threw on a pair of black skinny jeans and a halter neck shirt that was fairly loose fitting. I was putting on an old pair of hot pink converse as a knock was heard in the hotel room. Rosalie answered it and I saw the guys standing there.

"Hey guys!" I said as I grabbed my sunglasses.

We all headed out to the elevator and found Big Steve waiting for us at the bottom.

We didn't really know where to go to shop, so we just started walking down the street. We went into several stores and bought a few things. Edward insisted on carrying my bags for me, much to my dismay.

We went into a dress shop that Rosalie wanted to go look in. I was getting a kick out of it because Emmet was trying to be Rosalie's personal stylist.

I sat down by Edward and sighed.

"What's wrong Bella?" He asked me.

"I'm getting tired" I yawned as I laid my head down on his shoulder.

"Do you want to head back?" he asked me softly as he kissed my forehead.

"We can't…they aren't done shopping and Big Steve can't just leave them here." I answered softly. At this Edward got up for a minute. I watched him walk over to Big Steve and a few minutes later he walked back and held out his hand.

"Let's go"

"What? What about the others?"

"Big Steve is staying here. I assured him that we'd be fine" he smiled as he helped me up. "Quite frankly, he didn't want to have to carry you back to the hotel" He chuckled.

At that we walked out of the dress shop. He slid his hand into mine and I put my head on his shoulder-neither one of us spotting the paparazzi that had begun following us.

We walked by an ice cream shop and we walked in to get some. I ordered and right as I was about to pull money out of my wallet, Edward added his to the order and put money down to pay for it.

"Edward!" I slapped him playfully on his chest. "I was going to pay for that!"

"Well, I paid for it so there" he stuck his tongue out playfully. We got our ice cream and sat down at a table to eat it because it would melt outside. That is when we noticed the paparazzi taking pictures of us through the glass.

"They just don't give up, do they?" I sighed.

"Nope, I guess we should be getting ready for dating rumors to blow up now…especially if he's been following us for very long" Edward chuckled.

We left to go back to the hotel and were very careful to keep our distance from each other so as to not give them any more pictures than they already had.

We were almost at the hotel when I saw something that froze me in my tracks. I glanced across the street and saw my father…but when a bus passed he was gone. 'I must be losing it' I thought to myself. I tried to shake it off and keep walking.

We reached the hotel and decided to watch a movie so we headed to the room I shared with Rosalie. "Twilight" was just starting and we decided that that would do. We lay down on my bed and cuddled up against each other.

Edward was rubbing circles on my back and I was out before Robert Pattinson got his 'model moment' after he through cafeteria door.

I woke up to find it morning. I was still in Edward's arms and noticed that Rosalie , Emmet and Jasper were in the room as well. I guess they decided to all camp out in here.

We packed up our belongings and loaded them so we'd be ready to leave after the show tonight. We headed to the venue to get ready for the show.

After sound check, we all played guitar hero. We broke away long enough to go eat and went right back. I was just about to beat Emmet when I we were told I had to go.

We all walked out of the room and went backstage. I was about to head to the lift and the boys each kissed my forehead like they do every show. As Edward kissed my forehead he also pulled me in for a hug. I was pulling away as he whispered something in my ear that made my heart skip a beat.

"I love you, Bella Swan" He smiled at me and walked away.

The whole set, I was just really overwhelmed. I saw a few signs for me out in the audience, and they were singing my songs with me. And as if THAT wasn't overwhelming enough, Edward loves me? He's said that to me before in a friendly way, but there was something different in his voice when he said it tonight.

Before I knew it I was done with my set and introducing the guys. I ran offstage as they came on and I danced around like an idiot again. Edward winked at me every time he came over to the side of the stage I was on.

It was time for me to go onstage again and to my surprise, Edward introduced me this time. I tried my best not to hang out with him onstage any more than usual, but it was hard. After the song was over, they all gave me hugs, but Edward whispered "I love you" in my ear again.

Needless to say I was blushing as I left the stage. So much for rumors not starting…between the pictures from earlier and my red face-we're screwed.

I was really tired for some reason so I decided to skip the end of the show and go to my dressing room.

"Hey, I'm going to go lay down…I'm really tired" I told Rosalie. She simply nodded at me to say she heard me and kept dancing.

I walked down the hallway to my dressing room, opened the door, and walked in. I closed the door and before I could turn around there was a hand being placed over my mouth as I heard the lock on the door click.

"Dedicating a song to your mother? You really are a brat, you know that?" I felt a shiver go up my spine…but not in a good way.

"What are you doing here?" I choked out.

"I had to come and get what is rightfully mine before that boy does. I saw you being all cozy with him on the street earlier."

Oh my God…I wasn't imagining it. I DID see my father earlier.

"Rightfully yours? What do you mean?" I felt his hand go around the back of my neck and squeeze as his other hand started roaming. I had a feeling I knew what he meant, but I was hoping I was wrong.

"You" he snarled in my ear as he threw me onto the ground. He started to climb on top of me and I immediately started to struggle. He smacked me across the face and I saw movement out of the corner of my eye.

"But then I decided that I'd rather watch…so I brought someone with me. Come on out James" My father grinned as my eyes went wide. I was looking straight into the eyes of the boy who used to be my brother's best friend. Why used to be? Well, my brother doesn't take kindly to people who try to rape his baby sister.

"Wh-wh-what are you doing here" I managed to get out.

"Well, your dad asked me if I still wanted a piece of your ass and I just couldn't resist. It was way too easy for us to get back here, too. It seems they let everyone that has one of these back here" he grinned as he held up two backstage passes. I could still hear the blaring music from the stage so the concert wasn't over, and probably wouldn't be for a while.

"You're a real ass, you know that?" I spat at him. My father kicked my sides a few times and smacked my face.

"Now is that any way to speak to him? Now cooperate, or else" he spat back as he pulled a knife out of his pocket. My father grabbed my hair, pulled me up, and threw me at James. James caught me-and copped a feel along the way.

"It's time I finished what I started, baby" I couldn't keep tears from springing to my eyes as James said that.

My father started telling him what to do and James began to touch me all over. This is not how I wanted it to be. He tried to kiss me, but I turned my head away. James roughly turned my head to him and pressed his lips against mine. My first kiss is gone. I was saving that for Edward. I wanted my first kiss to be with Edward.

James ripped my shirt off and kept feeling me up and there was nothing I could do. If I tried to fight back, my dad would stab me- Although, he probably was going to stab me anyway. I couldn't stop the tears from pouring down my face as he reached under my skirt. I felt his hand push my underwear down and I realized that I didn't hear music anymore-the concert was over.

Unfortunately while I was reveling in the fact that people would be here soon I didn't notice that James had undone his pants.

He must have realized this fact too because he slammed himself into me and I let out a blood-curdling scream.

A few moments later I heard pounding on the door and my name being yelled. I tried to yell back and James punched me in the face and my father rammed the knife into my stomach. The door slammed open and I faintly heard my name being yelled before everything went black.

**(Edward POV)  
**"Thank you Austin!" Emmet yelled as we left the stage for the night. I have never felt this good in my life. I had finally told Bella that I love her, and I couldn't wait to talk to her about becoming an official couple. However, when we got backstage I saw Rosalie but no Bella.

"She was tired after her duet with you guys and went to her dressing room to lie down" Rosalie said like it was no big deal. Something didn't set right with me, though and I got a sick feeling in my stomach.

We all started walking towards her dressing room when we heard a blood-curdling scream coming from the direction of her dressing room. I took off running with my brothers right behind me. Big Steve tailed after us, and when we reached her door we found it locked.

"Isabella!" I yelled through the door. I just heard crying. "Bella!" I yelled again. This time she tried to scream back and I heard a sickening thud come from inside.

"Big Steve, we need this door open, now!" I said. Big Steve backed up and ran into the door, knocking it in. The sight I saw made my heart stop.

Bella was lying in the floor with her shirt torn off, a guy on top of her, and a second man stabbing her in the stomach. Big Steve ran over and threw the guy off of her and the other security guard that heard the scream tackled the other man.

I ran over to Bella to and found her unconscious with blood coming from her nose. I cradled her in my arms and put my hand over her wound to try and stop the bleeding-not caring that I was getting her blood all over me. That's when I noticed that her underwear was laying on the floor next to her feet. I started crying and rocking her back and forth until the ambulance arrived.

I hopped into the ambulance with her-Rosalie and the rest of my family was going to follow us there with Big Steve. As the ambulance doors shut I saw the boy and the man who Rosalie identified as Bella's father being pushed into a police car.

When we arrived at the hospital, Bella was rushed into the ER and I was forced to go sit in the waiting room and wait for my parents. I called Jake and told him what happened and he said he'd be there as soon as he could.

I was sitting with my head in my hands when I heard my name being called.

"Edward!" my mother's voice rang out. I looked up at her with tears rolling down my face. She just pulled me into her arms and let me cry.

"How is she?" she asked me quietly.

"I don't know…they won't tell me anything"

At that my mother left-I guess to try and get information. My brothers sat down on either side of me and tried to calm me down.

"It's ok, Edward" Emmet said as he rubbed my back.

"No, Em…it is NOT ok. I love her, I'm in love with her and some other guy just raped her. Do you understand that? The woman I love just got beaten, raped, and stabbed. It is not oh freaking kay" I exploded at him.

My brothers' eyes went wide at my rant. Emmet went to comfort Rosalie and Jasper pulled me into a hug.

"She's going to be ok…she's the strongest person we know" he said softly.

"Bella Swan?" everyone's heads snapped up at the sound of her name to see a doctor walking towards us. We all stood up.

"How is she?" I heard my mother ask.

"Well, we've managed to stop the bleeding from her stab wound-luckily it wasn't that deep. We've stitched it up and it should heal fine. They are in the process of doing the rape kit on her as we speak. We noticed bruising on her sides and did some X-rays to check for broken ribs and found that she doesn't have any ribs that are broken, but she does have three that are bruised pretty badly."

"So she's going to be ok?" I asked.

"Well, physically speaking-yes." The doctor said with a sigh.

"Can we see her?" Rosalie asked quietly.

"Of course…I'll come tell you when she is moved into a room" he said as he turned and walked away.

About an hour later, she still hadn't been moved to a room.

"What could be taking so long?" Emmet asked impatiently. He had his arm wrapped around Rosalie and her face was buried in his chest.

"Edward!" I heard a familiar voice yell. I turned around to see Jake running towards us carrying a very sleepy Lily.

My mom immediately went to take Lily from him so we could fill him in without waking her up.

"How is she? Oh my God, you're covered in blood" He asked frantically. We filled him in on what had happened and how she was doing.

"Who would do something like that?" he fumed.

"It was James, Jake." Rosalie said quietly.

"WHAT!" Jake yelled. "So he didn't get her the first time so he went into cahoots with my dad? I swear to God I'll kill them both" he said angrily.

"What do you mean 'get her the first time'?" I asked him.

"James used to be my best friend. He always had this weird thing for her and he tried to rape her once a few years back when my mom was still alive. I cut off all ties with him and my father told him if he ever came near Bella again he'd kill him. We all see how THAT turned out." He said as he sat down.

The doctor walked out and told us that she had been moved to room 354. Everyone walked down to her room and as we stood outside her door, the sight before me broke my heart. I walked into the room and immediately went to her side. From everything I had heard, you aren't supposed to touch a rape victim, but at this point I didn't really care.

She fought against the embrace but I just held onto her and started to softly sing in her ear.

"_Ooh-oo child Things are gonna get easier  
Ooh-oo child Things'll get brighter  
Ooh-oo child Things are gonna get easier  
Ooh-oo child Things'll get brighter_"

She stopped fighting and started sobbing into my chest as I was crying into her hair.

"_Someday, yeah We'll get it together and we'll get it all done  
Someday When your head is much lighter  
Someday, yeah We'll walk in the rays of a beautiful sun  
Someday When the world is much brighter_"

As I finished singing, the only sound that could be heard in the room was the sobbing of a broken girl-the broken girl that I am going to put back together.

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**I know, I'm a horrible person for having her go through that...**

**Review and let me know what you think!**


	14. Chapter 14

**(Edward POV)**

"Edward" I heard faintly.

"Edward" I was being shaken now. I opened my eyes to see Bella's sleeping face. I turned my head to see my brothers looking back at me.

"Edward, the police have to get a statement from you. They're waiting outside." Emmet said.

"I don't want to leave her" I told my brothers with a frown.

"Edward, go. We'll stay with her, ok?" Jasper volunteered.

I reluctantly got out of the bed and walked to the door. I looked over my shoulder and saw my brothers take a seat on the couch.

I walked out to find a police officer that appeared to be in his mid 50s waiting for me.

"Hello, I'm Officer Robins. I need to get a statement from you about what happened earlier this evening."

"Well, my brothers and I had just finished up the concert and we walked offstage. I was really excited to see Bella but when I got offstage she wasn't there. Rosalie said that Bella was tired and that she had gone to her dressing room to lie down. We all started walking in that direction when we heard a scream. We ran to her dressing room only to find that the door was locked. I called her name and when she tried to scream back I heard a thud from inside. Our body guard knocked the door down and when the door opened I saw two men and Bella. One man was on top of her and the other one was standing over her and stabbing her. Security tackled the men and got them off of her. Bella was unconscious and shirtless with blood coming out of her nose and the stab wound in her stomach. I put my hand on her stomach to try to put pressure on the wound and I noticed that her underwear was lying on the floor by her feet. Then they brought her here."

And just like that, I could see everything in my mind as vividly as if it were happening all over again.

"Did you recognize either of the two men?" he asked me.

"No sir, I didn't. Although Rosalie said the one that stabbed Bella was her father"

"Ok, thank yo-"

But before he could finish his sentence, a scream rang out from inside Bella's room. I ran into the room to see Bella having a nightmare I guess. Emmet and Jasper were trying to get her to wake up. I ran over to them, pushed them out of the way, and took over. She finally did wake up, but what she said were words that I never wanted to hear.

"Get away from me" she said coldly.

"Babe, it's me-It's Edward" I said as I tried to reach out to her.

"I know who you are. Get the hell away from me" She spat with a hollow look in her eyes-a look that I didn't recognize and it scared me.

"Bella-"

"I SAID TO GET AWAY" she yelled.

I couldn't help it-a few tears ran down my cheeks as I turned around to walk away. As I neared the door, I heard the three words that single-handedly broke my heart.

"I hate you"

With that the tears fell freely and I walked to the waiting room. Jake was there, but I passed him by and went to sit in the corner. I put my head in my hands and a few minutes later I felt someone sitting next to me.

"Edward?" I heard Jake ask. "What happened?"

"She hates me,Jake" I whispered.

"What?" he asked.

"She hates me. She had a nightmare and when she woke up she told me to get away from her. I told her it was just me and she said that she knew who I was and to 'get the hell away from her'. And then as I was leaving she said she hated me. I told her I loved her tonight before the concert and she told me she hated me in return." I said looking up at him.

"There has to be a reason she said that,Edward. There just has to be" Emmet said. I hadn't noticed him follow me out of Bella's room.

"I agree, I know my sister-and I know that she loves you too. She's hurting,Edward. James took something from her that she wanted to save for the person she loved. You know how she has a promise ring? She got that after James tried to rape her. She always wanted to save herself, but she made the official choice after she almost lost it. Her promise was broken because of the person that brought about the decision in the first place."

I couldn't help but look back at the floor when he said this.

"She didn't break the promise" I said softly. "She didn't make the choice to give herself up" I looked back up at Jake.

"I know that, and you know that-but I guarantee that Bella won't see it like that. Bella has always pushed the people that she loves most away when something happens. When James tried to rape her, she pushed my parents away. When my mom died, she pushed me away. When my dad abused her, she pushed me and Rosalie away. Now that this has happened, she's pushing you away. You just have to be patient" Jake said as he put his hand on my shoulder.

"Jasper's trying to talk to her right now and he told me to tell you that he'd let you know what he finds out" Emmet said. "Mom got a few hotel rooms-let's just go take a shower, give her some space, and get some food-ok?"

"I can't leave her Em"

"You aren't leaving her…and besides, there isn't really much you can do from out here. Jasper will let you know when he finds something out."

I reluctantly agreed and the three of us stood up and began to walk towards the door. I saw Emmet send a text-I guess telling Jasper we were leaving. When went down the elevator and as we neared the front doors, we saw swarms of paparazzi and some fans. However, the fans weren't screaming-they were standing in complete silence holding signs that said things like "We love you Bella". The mere sight of fans standing in respect brought the three of us to tears.

We began to walk through the paparazzi and were immediately swarmed with questions. We ignored all of them, or tried to until I heard one that made me snap.

"Edward, is your girlfriend dead?" One asked. I couldn't help it and I spun around and yelled at all of them.

"My best friend is lying in a hospital bed and all you people care about is an article or a story? Show a little respect will you?" I felt two hands go on my shoulders and I turned to walk away.

The surrounding air was completely silent.

**(Bella POV)**

I don't know why I just told Edward I hate him. I don't hate him. I'm in love with him. Jasper whispered something to Emmet and Emmet walked out. I was hoping that Jasper would follow him, but I guess luck just wasn't on my side.

"Bella?" he said softly.

I didn't answer.

"You want to talk about it?"

"I don't hate him Jasper"

"I know. The question is-why did you tell him you did?"

"I'm trying to blame him for what happened, which I know none of it is his fault. I just, the nightmare I had was about what my dad said in my dressing room before everything happened." I looked at the bed.

"What did he say?" Jasper asked softly as he came to sit on my bed.

"He said that he came to get what was rightfully his before 'that boy' did. I had a feeling of what he was talking about, but I asked anyway. He said it was me, and that he saw me being cozy with Edward earlier on the street. But then he said he'd rather watch and called James out."

Jasper just sat in silence and listened. His phone buzzed and he read the text message as he put his hand on my knee to urge me to continue.

"I guess in a way, I'm blaming what happened on Edward because of the relationship I have with him and on my stupidity for 'being cozy' with him in public. Part of me thinks that if my father hadn't seen me and Edward it wouldn't have happened"

"Bella, it's not your fault-or even Edward's for that matter. Nobody should ever treat a woman like that…no matter the circumstance. Your father still would have hurt you, and if he had James make the trip with him, he's been planning it longer than a day."

"I know, I just-I'm tainted now. I'm damaged goods and I'm dirty. I'm not pure anymore and I lost something that I can never get back" I said as I looked at my hand. The sight of my ring now sickened me.

"I don't even deserve to wear this anymore" I said angrily as I threw my ring across the room.

"You are NOT damaged goods,Bella. I can tell you that no matter what, Edward is still going to be in love with you. He is heartbroken, Bella-it is killing him to see you this way and not be able to do anything about it. Please, just talk to him and let him in." he said as he walked across the room, bent over, and began to walk back over.

"And please reconsider not wearing this. This symbolizes a promise that you chose to make-and you didn't choose to break it."

"I can't, Jasper. I just can't. I get sick when I even look at it." He sighed and placed it in his pocket before turning to walk out of the room.

"Jasper?" I asked quietly. He stopped and looked over his shoulder. "Please don't leave me, I don't want to be alone".

He turned around and walked over to me and climbed into my bed. He wrapped his arms around me, kissed my forehead, and pulled my head to his chest.

"Please talk to Edward" he whispered in my ear.

"Ok, I promise" I mumbled. As I was drifting off to sleep, I saw Jasper pull his cell phone out and type a quick text message before placing his head on top of mine.

**(Edward POV)**

I was just getting out of the shower and going to get dressed when my phone went off. I opened it to see that I had a new text message from Jasper.

_**I talked to her. You should come back, she doesn't hate you. She's scared. I'm with her right now, but come to her room when you get back and I'll leave.**_

Well, at least she doesn't actually hate me. I quickly threw my clothes back on and found someone to take me back to the hospital.

As Jake and I were walking up to the hospital doors, I noticed that the crowd of paparazzi was still there, but, like the fans, were silent when I walked through them.

We went to the elevator and walked to her room once we reached her floor. I opened the door quietly and walked in. Jasper kissed Bella's forehead and got up to leave the room to wait with Jake while I talked to her. I slowly walked over and sat in the chair next to her bed and waited for her to speak.

After a few moments of silence, she rolled over to face me with tears in her eyes.

"I'm sorry" she whispered. When I didn't say anything, she continued. "I don't hate you" she said as a tear rolled down her face. I resisted the urge to wipe it away.

"I was trying to find someone to blame and I was taking it out on you and you didn't deserve that"

"Why were you trying to blame it on me?" I asked her quietly.

"Because my dad said you were the reason he was doing it. He said that he had to claim what was rightfully his before you beat him to it" she said with more tears falling. I slowly got up and lay down beside her.

"I would never do that to you, ever" I said as I wiped her tears away.

"He didn't mean that. He meant before I GAVE it to you." She said.

"I'm sorry that your father did this to you, and I'm sorry that James worked with him. If I had known him when he first tried to do this to you I would have killed him."

"You know about that?" she asked me with wide eyes.

"Yes, I do. And I also know that it's the reason you bought your ring-which by the way, where is your ring and why aren't you wearing it" I asked her.

"I don't deserve to wear it anymore,Edward. I'm damaged goods-I'm tainted and dirty and I'm not good enough for you. You deserve better than me and you'd be better without me in your life."

I couldn't believe she thought that.

"That's the real reason you said you hated me, isn't it-to push me away because you think you aren't good enough" I asked her. She just nodded.

I pulled her into my arms and she buried her face into my shirt.

"I never want to hear you say you aren't good enough again, ever. You are so much more than enough, Bella. I'm in love with you, no one else-you. You are in no way tainted, dirty, or damaged. You are still beautiful and pure in God's eyes, and in mine. You didn't make the choice to have that taken away from you." I said into her hair as I kissed her forehead.

"That's what Jasper said, too"

"My brother's a very smart kid"

"I was saving it for you. I wanted my first kiss to be with you-I wanted it to be perfect. I wanted it to be a show-stopping, fireworks-filled, breathtaking kiss and thanks to James, the only thoughts I have of kissing are that it is gross, and scary, and wet" she cried into my shirt.

I couldn't help but crack a smile at hearing her say that she was saving that for me.

"Then don't count it, because I guarantee that kissing is great. And you will get your show-stopping, breathtaking kiss at some point and I promise that it will change your mind" I smiled into her hair.

"Promise?" she asked as she looked up at me with her big brown eyes.

"I promise" I said softly. "I meant what I said earlier…I love you. I'm in love with you"

She closed her eyes and looked down silently.

"It's ok if you can't say it back right now, I just wanted to tell you how I felt" I told her quietly.

"I want to say it back, I do-I just have some things I need to deal with before I can" she said.

"I understand that, and I'll be here to help you through"

She buried her head in my chest and fell asleep as I rubbed circles on her back. And in that moment, I fell in love with her all over again.

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**Leave me some feedback so I know how I'm doing!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Bella finally gets out of the hospital in this one, and Edward starts to put her back together**

**Review :)**

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It was two days later and I was finally getting to leave the hospital. The Dallas show had been cancelled last night and rescheduled for the end of the tour. The tour buses had gone ahead to the venue for tonight in Denver and we were flying in after I was released.

"Are you ready to get out of here?" The doctor asked as he walked in. It was 8AM and I was just finishing choking down the hospital breakfast.

"Yes, you don't even know" I responded.

"Now I'm not going to tell you that you can't perform, but I will say no jumping around or strenuous movement-I don't want you to pop your stitches out. They should dissolve in a week or two. Until then, be careful. I already told your friends this, but I'll tell you as well-I would recommend not wearing jeans or fitted pants until you're healed because they will irritate your stitches."

"Thank you" Edward said as the doctor turned to leave.

"Jake is signing the paperwork to bust you out of here, so all YOU have to do is get dressed." He said as he handed me a bag and helped me out of bed.

I walked to the bathroom and shut the door. I hadn't actually seen my injury yet so I stopped to look as I got dressed. My stomach was covered in gauze and bandages. I wonder if the doctor happened to tell anyone how to change them because I sure don't know how.

I put on the bra and thong Rosalie packed and slipped the sundress on. She must have bought it because I don't actually own any. It was then that I realized the zipper was in the back.

I walked out of the bathroom to find Edward the only one in the room.

"Umm Edward, could you zip me up?" I asked as I bit my lip. I knew how much of my skin was exposed in the back-it would be a miracle if my butt wasn't showing.

He didn't say a word he just walked up behind me to zip me up. He just stood there for a moment before I felt his fingertips on my back. I knew he was tracing the bruises that were on my back. He zipped my dress up and gently put his arms around my waist-careful to avoid my wound.

"I'm so sorry that this happened again" he whispered as he kissed my bare shoulder.

I didn't say anything and walked out of his grasp. I love him, but I can't do intimate physical contact right now. I'm still having some issues with hugs.

"Ok Bella, the paperwork is done and you are ready to go" I heard Jake say as Edward sighed. "Edward, can I talk to my sister for a minute?"

Edward nodded and walked out the door as Jake came over and sat next to me on my bed.

"What was that about?" he asked.

"What was what about?"

"Edward kissed your shoulder and you walked away without saying anything." Now it was my turn to sigh.

"I can't, Jake"

"You can't what"

"I can't be intimate with him yet. I've finally gotten completely comfortable with hugging; I'm not ready for anything but that yet. I lost so much in the past few days, I just can't"

"Why not, why are you scared of him?"

"Because I love him, and I don't want him to hurt me. My track record is horrible. I thought I loved James and he tried to rape me, and then actually did rape me. I loved dad and he beat me and then stabbed me. Every boy I've ever trusted or loved has taken advantage of me and hurt me-except for you. I just can't take any more hurt right now." I said softly.

Jake pulled me into a hug and I buried my face in his chest.

"Not every guy is like that though Bella. I know Edwarsd loves you-he has for a long time. He would give you the moon if he could. You are surrounded by people that care about you and want to keep you safe-you just have to let them take care of you."

"I know. I think I just need to go get lost in the music for a while-that's my way of dealing with things"

We stood up and walked out the door. Jake and Lily came with us to the airport to see us off. Jake gave me one last hug and then picked Lily up so she could wrap her tiny arms around me. We waved at them and got onto the plane.

I settled into a seat by a window of the private jet and looked out. I put my IPod into my ears and couldn't help the tears that formed in my eyes as "Tomorrow" by Avril Lavigne came on.

I felt someone sit next to me and saw Edward's reflection in the window. I kept my eyes pointing out the window and he just put his arm around my shoulders and the other on chin. He turned my face to face him and at seeing the tears fall from my eyes, pulled me into a hug. His hand dropped from my face as I took the earphones out of my ears. He looked at the song that was playing and sighed as he turned it off. His free hand then went to rest on my knee.

"Your brother's right, you know. I want to take care of you-we all do, but we can't unless you let us. I know it's hard and I know that you are hurting, but you have to let someone help you. Getting lost in the music is fine, but that isn't going to make anything go away"

By now I knew he had eavesdropped outside the door earlier, but for once I was happy he did.

"I know" I said into his chest as more tears fell from my eyes and I let him hold me as I fell asleep. Before I knew it, I was being awoken to get off the plane.

We arrived at the venue just in time for sound check. There were fans outside, and some of them were yelling for me and asking me questions like 'Are you ok? What happened?' or 'why were you in the hospital?'

It had already been decided that I would answer any questions about it honestly at interviews. We decided that, though it would be hard to talk about, it would be best to be honest. I didn't answer any of the questions outside though because we were already late.

Later that night, I was walking to the lift to start my set. Instead of jumping around the stage like I usually do, I just walked to the front while I was singing and sat down.

I did get up and move around the stage some during the faster songs, but It hurt to do much more.

When it was time to sing the song about my father, I decided to address the issue with the audience. I sat down at the piano and started to play while I spoke.

"I know that there have been a lot of questions and rumors floating around about why the concert last night was cancelled, and why I was in the hospital" I looked over to the side of the stage and saw bewildered faces looking back at me wondering what on earth I was doing.

"I was rushed to the hospital after the show in Austin because I was attacked during the end of the show. Everyone at past concerts has heard me dedicate a song to a person back home, but I never mentioned who. Tonight, I'm going to share my story with you and tell you who the person is. After my mother died, my father took it out on me. For three years, I put up with it-which I do NOT recommend- and I finally got away. It was my father that attacked me in Austin, and someone else from my past that helped him."

I quickly gave a nod to the band to start the intro to "Blown Away".

"This song was written for my father" The room was silent as I began to sing. I was really happy that I had made this the last song of my set tonight because I was in tears halfway through it. I finished the song and ran offstage as the boys came on.

I sat backstage with Esme until it was time to go back onstage.

After I finished the song with the boys, I went back to my dressing room with Esme and Big Steve.

I lay down on the couch with my head in Esme's lap and fell asleep to her stroking my hair. I woke up momentarily to find myself in the arms of a body guard, walking through hordes of fans. I knew there was no chance he was going to put me down so I didn't even ask. When we reached the bus, the body guard put me down and I went to go change.

Since I couldn't wear pants that hit my stitches, I stole an oversize shirt from Edward's stuff and went to change. I felt a little awkward about being in nothing but a shirt and boy short underwear on a bus full of boys, but they all had already said not to worry about it.

I climbed into Edward's bunk and waited for him to get there. I would have gone to mine, but I really needed to be held.

The curtain was pulled back and I heard a sharp intake of breath. I looked up and saw Edward…except he wasn't looking at my eyes. He was looking at my bottom half and then his eyes raked up until they got to my face. I couldn't help but blush a little bit and when he saw I was awake his eyes went wide.

"That's my shirt" he smirked.

"Well I couldn't very well sleep in your bunk in nothing, could I?" I smirked right back.

At this his face went crimson. Without looking at me again he grabbed a pair of sweats and a shirt and went to the bathroom to change.

After a few minutes I could hear a muffled conversation between the brothers.

"She's in my bunk half naked, Em…how am I supposed to sleep in there with her when she's dressed like that?" Edward asked frantically.

"Try not to think about it?" Emmet laughed.

"Yeah, I mean we've all already seen her in underwear and a bra…what's the big deal Ed?" You could almost hear the smirk in Jasper's voice.

"Ugh, whatever. I don't even know why I'm having this conversation with you" I heard Edward say as he went into the bathroom.

I heard the laughter of the other two brothers get louder as they walked to their bunks. They both stopped by Edward's bunk to say goodnight.

"He does realize he's seen me with less clothes on than this, right?" I smiled.

"Ah, yes-but the thing is, that was before he was in love with you. Now he sees you in a completely different light" Emmet laughed. "But don't tell him we told you that"

They both gave me a small hug and went to their bunks.

After a minute, Edward walked back to his bunk and stood outside for a minute. I could tell he was contemplating what to do.

"Edward, I can go to my own bunk if how I'm dressed is going to bother you" I said seriously. His face went red again as he sat down in the bunk.

"Oh God, you heard that?" he asked quietly.

"Yes, but I don't understand why it would. You've seen me with fewer clothes on before"

"It's a little different for me now" he said, still not looking at me.

"I'll leave. If you can't even look at me, how are you supposed to sleep in the same bunk as me?" I said as I got up. I was almost out of the bunk when he grabbed my arm and pulled me back in.

I lay back down and before I could pull the covers over me, I saw Edward looking at my body again. I quickly pulled the covers over me and buried my face in the pillow. I finally felt the weight shift on the bed signaling he had finally joined me.

I could tell he was thinking about something because I could feel his eyes on me, but he hadn't put his arm around me like he usually does.

"What's wrong?" I asked as I looked up at him.

"Can I ask you something?"

I simply nodded.

"Why do you not want me to touch you? I mean, you still get a little tense when I hug you"

"I'm equating every intimate gesture with the rape. I can still feel his hands on me, Edward. I can still feel his lips on mine. I see flashbacks every time I close my eyes"

"But if you never let anyone touch you, how are you going to equate it with anything else except the rape?" he asked softly.

I didn't know what to say. He had a very valid point.

"I don't know, I guess you're right"

I looked into his eyes for a minute before I grabbed his hand. I guided his hand up and laid it on my thigh as I closed my eyes. After a few moments he slowly started moving it until it was on my hip. He moved it under my shirt to the small of my back and stopped as a tear left my eye.

"I love you" he whispered as he kissed my tear away.

He pulled my head to his chest and held me until I fell asleep-all the while rubbing small circles on the small of my back.

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**Awwwww...the next one will probably have some interviews with Bella about what happened in it.**


	16. Chapter 16

**I really like this chapter...I hope you like it too**

**:)**

**Review!**

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I awoke the next morning to Edward brushing the hair out of my face. My eyes fluttered open to meet his and I smiled.

"Your birthday is next week" he said quietly.

"It is? I didn't realize that it was already almost July"

"Yeah, your birthday's the 10th right?"

"Yeah, it is" I smiled at the fact that he remembered. "I'm excited to go to New York…I've never been there before"

"Well, we have four days there. The first day is a free day and then the next three are shows. We'll have to take you sightseeing"

"I can't wait. This will be the first birthday I've gotten to celebrate since my mom died" I said quietly.

_**A Week Or So Later  
**_We had gotten into New York last night and gone to the hotel. I woke up today to four people jumping on my bed. And I don't me jumping ON me in my bed…I mean literally jumping on my bed.

I groaned and pulled the covers over my face.

"Go away" I mumbled.

"No, it's your birthday and it's our day off…so we're going to go celebrate" Emmet said.

"Besides, you need a nice dress for tonight" Edward whispered in my ear as they all sat down.

"Why do I need a dress? I HATE dresses" I finally was able to go back to jeans and they want me to put on another dress?

"You just do" Rosalie said. "Now get up, get showered, and get dressed. You have 10 minutes"

They started to leave my room and got out of bed and had started to take my shirt off when I felt his gaze on me.

"Edward, I'm half naked" I smirked.

"You slept in my bunk like that for a week." He smirked. "Besides, I wanted to say something" He said as he wrapped his arms around me.

"Happy Birthday, Bella" he whispered into my hair. I smiled into his chest and breathed in the scent that I've come to identify with him.

"Edward, you're cutting into my shower time" I giggled.

He didn't let go. In fact, he kissed my forehead and followed the same path down my temple to my neck. He kissed around my neck as his hands went up the back of my shirt. He nuzzled his face in my neck and mumbled something that I couldn't understand.

"What?" I laughed

"I don't wanna let you go" he said as he unburied his face.

"But I'm smelly…I have to go shower and unfortunately you can't go with me." I smirked as his face went red. I kissed the tip of his nose and smiled at him.

"Can I at least wait for you here?" he asked me.

"Well, you can but my guess is that you're about to need another cold shower" I said as I winked and started to walk away.

"Why would you say that?" I heard him ask.

"Oh, no reason" I said as I lifted my shirt over my head and finished walking to the bathroom-giving him a full view of my back and the knowledge that I was wearing nothing but underwear.

"You're really mean, you know that? Ugh, I'll be back later" I heard him whine right before I heard the door open and close.

It made me feel good about myself that I could do that to him.

I took a quick shower and threw on my clothes. I made sure to grab sunglasses and look nice because it was very likely that paparazzi would be following us around today.

There was a knock on my door and I opened it to see Edward leaning in the door frame.

"Enjoy your cold shower?" I asked innocently.

"You're a horrible person, you know that?"

"I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about" I giggled as I passed him and walked into the hallway.

"It's not funny, Bella" he said as he followed me into the elevator.

After the doors shut I couldn't help but laugh when I looked at him.

"You really have no idea about what you do to me, do you" He said quietly while he looked into my eyes.

"Edward, I don't DO anything to you" I giggled some more. The doors opened and we walked out to meet Emmet,Jasper,Rosalie and Big Steve.

"That's not what I meant and you know it" he rolled his eyes as he smiled at me.

"So, what are we doing today" I asked as we reached the rest of the group.

"Well, we figured we'd just start walking" Emmet said as we walked out to the street.

"There's a dress shop up here that we're going to look for a dress in" Rosalie said.

"Is anyone going to tell me why I need a dress?" I asked.

"Nope, I'm only going to tell you that I'm picking you up at 6 PM" Edward smiled at me.

I found a gorgeous dress that fit me perfectly and Rosalie was very particular to not let the guys see it. It was a strapless brown dress that had blue accents all over it. It went to a few inches above my knee with blue netting showing out from under it. I also found brown heels to go with it and when I went to pay, she slapped my hand away.

"It's my birthday present to you" she smiled.

"Rosalie, you don't have to do that"

"I know I don't, but I want to"

We met the guys and walked out with Big Steve trailing behind us.

The rest of the day was spent going to places like Central Park, The Empire State Building, The Statue of Liberty, and Rockefeller Center.

I looked at the people Ice Skating and smiled. There was a girl doing jumps and spins and it reminded me of my childhood. We didn't go skating because there were a bunch of little kids and we didn't want to cause a riot, but we sat and watched for a little bit.

"Are you ready to go? It's almost 4" I heard Rosalie ask.

I looked up at her and smiled. The 6 of us headed back to the hotel so I could get ready for my-well for whatever I was doing tonight.

We entered our room to find Esme waiting for us.

"Hi Esme, what are you doing here?" I asked confused.

"Well, Edward asked me to help Rosalie get you ready since you only have two hours"

"That's a lot of time…do I need two people getting me ready?" I giggled.

"Probably not, but Edward asked me to so I came over" she laughed.

The next two hours were filled with Rosalie and Esme doing my hair and makeup and lots of laughter.

I slipped on my dress and shoes and walked out to the living room part of our suite and heard a few gasps.

"Oh my, you look stunning" Esme said.

Rosalie just gave me a hug as there was a knock on the door. Rosalie opened it to reveal Emmet and Jasper standing there.

They walked in and just stared with their mouths wide open.

"Wow, Bella…you look amazing" Jasper said as he gave me a hug and kissed my forehead.

"Edward only THOUGHT he needed a cold shower this morning…wait till he sees you in THIS" Emmet whispered in my ear as he hugged me. Jasper and Rosalie burst into laughter and Esme only looked confused. Good, I guess she didn't hear that statement.

"Where's Edward?" I asked as I pulled away from my hug with Emmet.

"Oh, he's on his way. We came early to see you two off." Jasper said.

"See us off? You guys aren't coming?" I asked. It was then that I noticed they were in jeans and a t-shirt.

"Nope" they smiled as a knock sounded from the door. Emmet went to answer it and I heard whispering before Edward walked in.

When he saw me he froze in his tracks and just stared. I felt a blush creeping up my cheeks under his gaze.

"Hi" I said softly after a little bit.

"Damn" was all he said.

The room was full of laughter and I just giggled at his word choice as his mother scolded him.

"Edward, Language!" Esme said while trying to keep her face stern. She couldn't help but crack a smile though.

"Sorry, it's just-wow" he said as I walked over to him.

"Have fun you guys!" everyone said as we left.

"So, where are we going?" I asked as we walked to the limo that was waiting outside the hotel.

"That, my dear, is a secret" he said as we climbed in.

After a few moments of silence, he whispered something in my ear that set butterflies loose in my stomach.

"I was thinking, if you wanted, that this could maybe be your first date"

"Does that mean-"

"Yeah, that means I'm technically asking you out on a date. But if you aren't ready for that it can totally just be me taking my best friend out to celebrate her birthday" He rambled.

"I'd love for this to be my first date, Edward"

He smiled as the limo came to a stop. We got out in front of Tavern on the Green and after walking through a few paparazzi; we entered and were led to a table in the back.

"Well, I guess we'll be the talk of the tabloids in the morning" I said quietly.

"Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if they thought we were dating" He answered.

"What?"

"Well, I was just thinking that-in the future-if we do ever decide to date, maybe it wouldn't be such a bad thing to be public about it"

"But I thought you guys liked to keep your relationships private"

"We usually do, but it has a lot to do with what girl it is too"

"I understand that" I responded.

Dinner was nice, we talked and laughed and he paid for it.

"Edward-"

"Don't even, Bella. Even if this wasn't a date it would still be your birthday" He said as he stuck his tongue out at me.

I just laughed as we got up and walked out to the limo, again going through a few paparazzi.

"Where are we going now"

"You'll see" he said as he kissed my forehead. I'm sure the paparazzi LOVED that one.

We were in the limo for a while and it finally stopped. We got out and I saw that we were standing in front of Rockefeller Center.

"Why-"

He didn't say a word- he just grabbed my hand and started to walk. We went over to get skates and the man winked at Edward. I didn't understand this until I saw that the rink was supposed to be closed.

"Edward, you paid the guy to stay open?" I laughed.

"Of course I did…sometimes being famous has it's perks" he said as he winked at me and handed me a pair of socks.

We laced up our skate and skated onto the rink. We started skating slowly and talking when he grabbed my hand. We kept skating and I felt the need to ask the question that had been on my mind since we had arrived.

"Why did you bring me here?" He stopped skating and pulled me to face him.

"When I started planning this, I thought back to the last time I saw you truly happy other than when you are onstage. I remembered that day at the ice skating rink and it just seemed right. I fell in love with you all over again when I saw you skate, Bella. So I thought this was the perfect place to come to when I asked you to be my girlfriend-officially anyway." He said as he held both of my hands in his.

"Yes" I breathed out.

He smiled and moved one hand to my waist and the other onto my face. He started to lean in when I noticed paparazzi out of the corner of my eye.

"Edward, there's paparazzi" I whispered. I didn't mind it, but I knew the guys usually did.

"I don't care anymore, Bella. I love you-I'm in love with you, and if the whole world knows it, then so be it" He looked at me in the eyes with a look mixed with love and seriousness.

"I love you too" I breathed out before his lips met mine.

The butterflies in my stomach started doing the conga and electric shocks went through my whole entire body. It was sweet and gentle and when we pulled apart a few moments later, I was breathless.

He looked me in the eyes for a few moments before pulling me into another kiss. He refrained from kissing anywhere else; my guess is because of the paparazzi.

We pulled away from the kiss and he rested his forehead against mine before letting his head fall to my shoulder. He placed a sweet kiss on my shoulder before I laughed, pushed him away and started skating.

I was so happy that I just started doing different spins and then I did a few jumps. I spun one last time before skating back over to Edward.

"You know, every time I see you do that, I fall in love with you a little more" He said as he kissed me one last time before we skated off the rink.

The man winked at us when we gave him our skates and we smiled at him in return. Edward grabbed my hand and interlaced our fingers as we walked back to the limo.

Once inside, I curled up next to him with my head on his shoulder.

"What are we going to say tomorrow at Ryan Seacrest? I'm sure the pictures will be full knowledge and you KNOW he's going to ask you about them"

"Tell the truth, if that's ok with you. I mean, the world already thinks that we are dating. Chances are it will be a big deal for a little while and then it will blow over. They'll just think we're finally admitting it" He said as he smiled at me.

I laughed as we pulled up to the hotel. He got out of the car and gave me his hand to help me out as well. We walked into the hotel hand in hand.

We walked upstairs, but instead of going to my room, he led me to his parents' room.

"I think we should warn them about the pictures that they'll see, and tell them that we aren't going to deny it" He explained when I gave him a funny look.

He raised his fist to knock on the door. A few moments later, the door opened and Esme ushered us in.

"Edward texted me and said you guys wanted to talk to us. What's going on?" Carlisle asked.

"Well, I just thought that we should let you know that we are officially dating. We were going to before everything happened and we decided to put it on hold until Bella felt ready."

"Oh honey! That's so exciting" Esme said as she gave us hugs.

"That's not it" I said.

When his parents gave him funny looks, Edward continued for me.

"I took her skating and there was a paparazzi there. I want you to know that I did know they were there and I made the decision on my own. I kissed her on the rink and I know he got photos of it. I wanted to tell you that we talked about it and have decided not to deny our relationship to anyone"

"Are you two sure?" Carlile asked us. We both nodded our heads and he came up and gave us both hugs.

"Chances are it won't be that big of news anyway, considering half the world already thinks you two are dating anyway" Esme chuckled as she gave us hugs.

"You should probably go tell your brothers though so they don't find out from a gossip website, or worse, the interview tomorrow" Carlile suggested.

We nodded, waved goodnight, and walked out of the room. I decided to go to my room to call my brother, and Edward went to tell his brothers.

I walked to my room, slid the key in the lock, and walked in. I went and got my cell phone from the table by my bed and walked back to the living room area to sit down. I dialed his number and waited for him to pick up.

"Bella, you do know it's almost midnight here, right?" My brother groaned as he answered the phone.

"That's no way to talk to me on my birthday" I teased.

"One, I already told you happy birthday earlier. Two, it's not your birthday there anymore."

"It's still my birthday THERE though. Besides, I had to call and tell you about my date"

"Wait, your what?" Yeah, he was wide awake now.

"Edward took me out on a date tonight"

"It's about damn time"

"What?"

"I've been trying to get that boy to ask you out since you guys came for the funeral" he laughed.

"You're weird" I laughed with him.

"So…am I going to be reading all about it online tomorrow?" he teased.

"Actually, you probably will be. He took me to Rockefeller Center and we went ice skating. We were talking and he pulled me to him and started to lean in. I noticed a paparazzi taking pictures of us and when I told him, he said he didn't care and that he didn't want to hide it. So I figured I'd better call and tell you before you saw pictures of us kissing all over the place tomorrow."

"Oh, well-thanks for that then." He said. The line was quiet for a minute. "So, first kiss, huh? How was that?" he asked with a teasing tone.

"I'm not talking to you about that, Jake. It was perfect and that's all you need to know." I laughed. "I really do love him, Jake. I love him so much it scares me."

"I know you do, I can see it in your eyes every time you look at him. But I feel like I have to play the protective big-brother role for a minute and tell you to be smart about it. Please don't do something that you aren't ready for"

"I won't, Jake. I promise. Well, I'll let you get back to bed…tell Lily for me?"

"I will, sis. Love ya' kiddo"

"Goodnight"

I couldn't help but smile as I hung up the phone. I had just finished typing in the URL to Perez Hilton's page when there was a knock at the door and I looked through the peep-hole to see Edward standing there in sweats and a t-shirt. I let him in and walked back over to the computer.

"Where's Rosalie?" I asked.

"Oh, she was in the room with Emmet and Jasper waiting for us. She's staying in my room tonight…she figured we'd want to talk. She said she wants details tomorrow, though" He said the last part in a high-pitched girly squeal. I couldn't help but laugh at his impersonation of Rosalie.

"What are you looking at?" he asked as he walked over.

"I'm seeing if the pictures are online yet" I answered as I hit enter on the URL. Sure enough, the first story on Perez's page was a big picture of me and Edward kissing on the ice rink.

"Yeah, I think it's a pretty safe bet that it will be brought up in the interview tomorrow" he laughed.

I went to change as I kept talking to him and yet again had to call him in to help with the dress zipper.

"Edward?"

"Yeah?" he asked as he walked in. I had already put on sweats under my dress, which caused him to laugh at my appearance.

"Let me guess, Zipper?" he asked with a chuckle as he walked over and got behind me. He slowly dragged the zipper down and the dress fell off of me, leaving my upper half completely bare. I heard a sharp intake of breath and I went to pick up the tank top from beside me but he stopped me.

He took the tank top from me and started to walk to face me. I raised my hands to cover my exposed breasts as he turned to face me and he gently pulled them down. I looked up and realized that he had taken his shirt off as well.

His eyes raked over my upper half as he pulled me in for a kiss. This kiss was passionate and rough, yet still gentle at the same time. His hands started to run across my back as his tongue licked my lips asking for entrance. I backed away at this because I didn't know what to do.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I've never made out with anyone before, Edward…what if I'm bad at it?" I said as I looked down. He put his finger under my chin and placed a soft kiss on my lips before he responded.

"There's no possible way that you are going to be bad at it"

I blushed as I walked to the bed my tank top was sitting on and crawled in. He followed after me shortly and lay down beside me. He pulled me in for another kiss, and this time when he licked my lips I opened them slightly. His tongue dove into my mouth and we spent several minutes just exploring each other's mouths and when we finally pulled away, we were both breathing heavily.

He let his hand start to trace my curves as I traced patterns in his chest. He kissed my lips and then kissed a trail down my neck. He paused at my collar bone before moving down the valley in between my breasts and down my stomach. He was nearing the top of my sweats when I felt the cold metal on my stomach.

His promise ring.

"Edward" I breathed out. "Edward!" his face snapped up to meet my eyes and I just pointed at his ring. His eyes went wide when he realized what we had been on the road to doing, and immediately climbed off of me and rolled on to his back.

"I'm so sorry" He breathed out as I put my tank top on. I noticed that he was really far away from me.

"Edward that doesn't mean we can't kiss, that just means we have to be careful about how far we let it go" I told him as I rolled over to him. He put his arm around me and put my head on his chest. I could feel his heart racing underneath my head and it made me smile.

"You want to know a secret?" I asked him. He nodded and I took that as my cue to continue. "I love that I can do that to you-make your heart race, and your face flush. It makes me feel desirable" I said as I placed a small kiss on his chest where his heart was.

"Wow, I don't ever want you to think you aren't desirable…if you weren't do you think I'd honestly need so many cold showers? Every shower I take now is a cold one because I want you so damn much and I can't do anything about it." He said. I could tell that little fact frustrated him.

After a few minutes of silence, he seemed like he remembered something.

"OH! I almost forgot to give you your present!"

"You already took me to dinner and skating-you didn't have to get me something, you weirdo." I laughed.

"Yes I did" he said as he pulled two boxes out of the pocket of his sweatpants.

"Now, this one is actually from my whole family" he said as he handed me a tiny box. I opened it up to see a beautiful ring inside of it.

"Jasper told us about why you didn't want to wear your ring anymore, and we thought that maybe you just needed a new ring to remind you that what he did to you didn't change the way God sees you"

I almost started crying as I slipped the ring onto my finger. It was a plain silver band that had "Love Is Patient" with a vine of flowers and hearts engraved on it.

"And this one, well this one is from me" he said shyly as he handed me the second box. I opened it to reveal two rings, one much bigger than the other. They each said the same thing: "Il mio amore per sempre e sempre"

"What does that mean?" I asked him.

"My love forever and always" he said quietly. "I bought one for each of us to wear because I know in my heart that you're it for me, Bella"

My eyes went wide at that statement. He then started to panic.

"I shouldn't have said that, I'm sorry…I freaked you out. This is bad-" I cut him off with a kiss. When we pulled apart I broke into a smile, and kissed his nose.

"I love it Edward…I just wasn't expecting it" I said as I slipped the smaller ring onto my right hand ring finger.

We curled up next to each other in bed and fell asleep. I'm sure the smile never left my face.

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	17. Chapter 17

**I hope you enjoy this chapter! I'm writing the next one right now.**

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Rosalie woke us up the next morning so we could get ready for the interview with Ryan Seacrest. I don't know why all of these people wanted to interview us together, but whatever.

Edward gave me a quick kiss and left to go get ready in his own room.

"I'm not sure I'll ever get used to that" Rosalie chuckled softly.

"Used to what"

"You and Edward kissing-I mean, we've been wondering when it was going to happen, but now that it has none of us can believe it."

"Yeah, well-I'm sure Ryan will have a picture ready to ask us about" I laughed softly. Ryan Seacrest is notorious for digging into the love lives of celebrities.

"I see you're wearing the ring they got you. I'm happy you decided to. When they bought it we were all worried that you wouldn't like it."

I smiled softly at this, and looked down at my left hand.

"I love it, and they were right. I don't think that it was that I didn't want to wear a ring anymore, I think it was THAT particular ring that I didn't want to wear." I said as I pushed my hair behind my ear.

"What is that"

"What?"

"On your right hand….that ring. You didn't have that yesterday."

"Edward gave it to me"

Rosalie ran over and pulled my hand up so she could read it. She looked puzzled and when I told her what the inscription meant she got all giddy.

"No wonder he's the 'cute romantic one'" she laughed.

I just rolled my eyes and went to get ready.

We met the boys, their parents, and Big Steve in the lobby and headed out to the interview. When we arrived, we were escorted into the building and the boys and I immediately went to be interviewed. They were in a song at the moment and we sat down and put headsets on and got situated. Edward put his hand on my knee and gave me a reassuring glance as Ryan started to talk.

"I promised you the Cullens and Bella Swan before the break and they are now sitting with me. How are you guys doing today?"

"We're doing great" Jasper answered.

"Edward,Bella-you guys look awfully happy this morning. It wouldn't happen to have anything to do with this little picture, now would it?" He asked with a smirk as he slid the picture of Edward and me kissing on the rink in front of us.

"OH MY EYES!" Emmet exclaimed jokingly as he covered up his eyes.

"Wow, thanks for that Emmet" I laughed slightly.

"So?" Ryan asked.

"Yep, that has everything to do with it" Edward answered as he threw a smile my way.

"So, you're dating…and admitting to it?"

"Yep" Edward and I both answered at the same time.

"Wow, this is new. I'm not quite sure what to do. You guys usually don't admit to anything"

"Yeah, well…things change" Edward said with a smile.

"So I'm guessing you had a pretty good birthday then, Bella?" he asked me and I felt a little blush come onto my face.

"Well, yeah. It was really nice, actually. I used to skate when I was little and Edward took me to dinner and then to the rink. We've gone ice skating before, but it was nice to be able to skate without worrying about popping any stitches out" I chuckled. "By the way, that is NOT a very pleasant experience."

"How are you doing, by the way? I heard about Austin" he asked.

"You know, I'm taking it one day at a time. I've got a good support system behind me and I think that helps a lot" I smiled at the boys next to me and then through the glass.

"Emmet, I've seen pictures of you with the lovely young lady standing on the other side of the glass. Dating her, not dating her….what's the deal?" He turned his attention to Emmet.

Emmet chuckled and I couldn't help but grin at the fact that Rosalie's face had gone scarlet.

"You know, she's a great girl and anybody would be lucky to date her…" Emmet said with a smile. Jasper,Edward, and I couldn't help but start laughing at his repeat of his past answer.

"Emmet, seriously" Ryan said.

"Seriously, she's Bella's best friend. That's how we met her. She really is a cool girl, but no-we aren't dating." He answered seriously.

"_Yet"_ Edward,jasper, and I all said through a cough at the same time.

Ryan laughed at this and went "Well, judging by that reaction, I'll believe you".

"Jasper…are you dating Alice Brandon?"

"Dude, you ask me that question every time I'm in here" Jasper laughed. "And no, still not dating her"

LIES!

"Uh huh.." Ryan said skeptically. "So, Bella-I hear your first single is coming out soon…can you tell us anything about it?"

"Yes, it is coming out the end of July and it is a track called 'Fearless'" I answered. "It has always been one of my favorite tracks, but I have recently gained a new appreciation and love for it." I said as I put my hand on top of Edward's (which was still on my knee, mind you).

The interview continued for a bit longer and after it was over I asked Ryan if I could steal the picture. He laughed and handed it over as he gave me a hug.

We left the station and headed to get food before we had to head to sound check.

Edward and I were really very surprised that Ryan hadn't noticed our rings. He's usually pretty observant. His family did notice them, however, and asked several questions about it.

"So, you're like engaged?" Emmet asked.

"No, Emmet. We aren't engaged" Edward sighed.

"Do you mind if I ask what they say?" Esme asked with a smile.

"They say 'My love forever and ever' in Italian" Edward answered.

"I think you just proved why you're the 'cute romantic' one" Jasper chuckled and I started cracking up.

"I'm sorry, but that's exactly what Rosalie said this morning when I told her" I said when they all started staring at me.

They laughed and we headed back to do sound check. I ran through my set and then went to sit in the front row to watch the boys. I was so happy tonight, but I didn't know why. Maybe it was because we were in Madison Square Garden. Maybe it was because I was in love. Maybe it was the fact that Edward said that I was it for him.

But maybe it was because I was starting to think that he may be it for me, too.

"You look happy" I heard Esme say as she sat down next to me.

"Yeah, I really am" I said softly.

"He really loves you, you know that?"

I simply nodded my head. I sat and watched Edward play guitar for a minute. When he saw me looking at him he smiled at me and winked.

"He told me last night that I'm it for him" I said softly.

I was expecting a gasp, a sigh, anything…but she made no noise. I turned to look at her and she just had a smile plastered on her face.

"How do you feel about that?"

"Well, it shocked me at first. Then it really scared me. I mean, he's the first guy I've ever dated and I just turned 20 years old. But through all of that, it makes me happy because I've started to think that maybe he might be it for me too. Is that so weird for me to think that when he's the first boy I've ever dated?"

Esme just smiled and pulled me into a hug.

"No, honey, it's not weird. A lot of people think that you can't find the love of your life when you're young, or that you have to date a lot of people before you find them. What people don't realize is that sometimes God puts the person that we're meant to be with in our lives when we least expect it."

Edward was looking at me and I made eye contact with him and he smiled at me softly.

"I still don't understand what he sees in me, though. He could have any girl, yet he chose me. I tried so hard to push him away after I was raped, Esme but he just kept coming back."

"That's because he loves you. I have never seen that boy as upset or scared as he was when he found you in that room, Bella. He held you in his arms with his hand over the wound on your stomach and broke down. When he realized that you had been raped he just kept saying he was sorry and he kept begging for you not to leave him. He wouldn't let go until the paramedics got there." She said with a serious tone.

"I-I didn't know that" I whispered.

"I think he always knew he loved you, but I think that night made him realize just how much. I really don't think he could live without you, Bella. And to be completely honest, I can't think of a better girl to fill that spot in his life"

"Thank you, Esme" I smiled at her. I gave her a hug as the boys were finishing up.

Edward jumped off the stage and walked over. I pulled him in to a hug and kissed him, not caring that his mother was standing right there.

"I love you" I said with tears in my eyes as I pulled away.

"What's wrong? Why are you crying?" he asked frantically as he wiped the tears away.

"Your mom told me about when you found me in Austin" I said quietly.

"Oh" he said as he looked over at his mom. "I'm sorry"

"Sorry? Why are you sorry?"

"I've never been as scared as I was that night, Bella All I could think as I was holding you in my arms was how empty I would be if I ever lost you. Then, when I realized that you were raped, I sat and cried because I realized it was my fault that it happened"

"Edward, it wasn't your fault. Please don't think that it was." I said as I pulled him into another hug. He buried his face in my neck and we just stood there.

"I know" he mumbled into my neck. I couldn't help but giggle because it tickled.

"That tickles" I giggled.

"Oh really?" he mumbled again. I giggled as he lifted his head to meet my eyes.

"So what would you do if I tickled you right now?" he asked with a smirk.

"This" I said as I smacked his head playfully.

"Oh you're gonna get it now" He started towards me and my eyes got wide as I started running.

The arena was filled with laughter as I ran around trying to get away from Edward. I looked over my shoulder to see him gaining on me.

"Ok, I give up" I heard him call. I turned around only to see Edward come at me and throw me over his shoulder. He carried me all the way to their dressing room and put me down on the couch before he started tickling me. Emmet and Jasper were laughing and I was laughing so hard it hurt.

"Edward, stop" I laughed. When he didn't stop, I tried again. "Please?"

When he still didn't stop, I reached up and placed a kiss on his lips. He stopped tickling me and kissed me back.

"OH MY EYES!" Emmet yelled. "Jasper! Turn the camera off! The fans don't need to be tortured like we just were!"

"Em, grow up" Jasper laughed as he turned the camera off. "Sweet, I got the whole chase, the tickling, and the kiss on tape. This is going to be an awesome youtube video" Jasper laughed as he walked out of the room.

Edward and I just shook our heads and he pulled me in for another kiss.

"Guys, do you really have to do that?" Emmet asked.

"Get out, Emmet" Edward said before kissing me again.

Yeah, I could definitely see myself being part of this family.

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	18. Chapter 18

**You guys are going to hate me.**

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It's been two weeks since we finished performing in New York and we were currently headed to the hotel in Orlando. I was sitting in the back room of the bus watching Jasper and Emmet play guitar hero when Edward walked in and sat next to me.

He put his arm around me and I shoved it off.

"Are you ok? What's wrong?" he asked worriedly.

"I'm fine, Edward I just have a lot on my mind, ok? Leave me the hell alone" I yelled as I ran off.

I ran to my bunk and climbed in right before the tears started falling. I couldn't tell him why I was upset. This was going to ruin everything-rumors were going to fly and my career would be over.

I felt the weight shift on my bed and a hand on my shoulder.

"Go away Edward"

He just lay down beside me and wrapped his arm around my waist.

"Talk to me Bella, what wrong"

"This is going to ruin everything. I was finally getting over it and this just had to happen" I cried even harder.

"Hey, hey, what's going to ruin everything" he asked as he turned me over to face him.

He looked into my eyes and when I didn't say anything he continued.

"Please, tell me what's wrong-let me help fix it"

"You can't fix it, Edward" I cried.

"What do you mean?" He asked with a mixture of confusion and curiosity.

"I'm late, Edward" his eyes went wide and he pulled me into his arms and let me cry.

"Maybe it's just stress…that can happen, right?" He asked softly.

"Yeah, it can…but I've never been late before, ever"

"It's going to be ok" he said as he rubbed circles on my back. "But I think we need to talk to my mom."

I nodded my head into his chest as we heard the driver say that we had reached the hotel.

We followed Emmet,Jasper and Rosalie to the front of the bus where Carlisle and Esme had just gotten on to hand us keys.

The others left the bus and as Carlisle and Esme were going to get off, Edward spoke up.

"Mom, can we talk to you for a minute?" She simply nodded and Carlisle got off the bus and shut the door.

We walked with her to the back lounge and sat down.

"Well, what's going on?" Esme said after a few moments of silence.

"I'm late" I said softly as I started crying.

"You're what? But what about your promise rings? We trusted you two! I can't beli-" Esme started.

"Mom, it's not mine. We haven't had sex" Edward said softly.

"You mean…"

I simply nodded my head and let out a sob. Esme came over and wrapped her arms around me.

"It's going to be ok, honey. Everything is going to be ok." She said as she rubbed my back. "Edward, call your father and tell him that we need a car"

Edward went and made the call while Esme let me continue to cry on her shoulder. A few minutes later, Edward told us that the car was there and Esme and I went to get in.

"Everything's going to be ok" he whispered as he kissed my forehead.

Esme and I climbed into the SUV with Big Steve and we drove to a nearby drugstore. Esme got out and went to buy a few pregnancy tests. She said she didn't want to run the risk of a photographer getting a picture of me just yet.

After a few minutes, she came back out holding a bag and we drove back to the hotel. When we arrived, Esme took me up to Edward's room and handed me the bag. I knocked on his door and a few moments later it opened. I walked in and walked to the bathroom.

He followed me and stood in the doorway as I read the instructions. I pushed him out of the bathroom and took the three tests that Esme had bought. I set them in a row on the counter and sat down on the edge of the bathtub to wait the five minutes for the tests to be done.

After the five minutes were up I stood up and shakily walked to the counter to look. What I saw made me collapse onto the floor crying.

"Bella?" I heard Edward call through the door. I just kept crying.

"Bella, I'm coming in"

When I still didn't answer I heard the door open. I saw Edward pause at the counter and look at the three very definite "PREGNANT" readings that I knew were staring back up at him. He ran over to me and scooped me into his arms and held me. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone.

"Mom, I need you to come to my room…and you might want to bring dad with you…use your key"

He hung up the phone and wrapped his arms around me and cried into my hair. We stayed on the bathroom floor until his parents walked in. They appeared in the doorway of the bathroom and their eyes fell to the counter. Esme signaled to go into the bedroom and Edward scooped me up into his arms and followed them.

Edward sat down on the bed and kept me in his arms.

"What am I going to do? Eclipse isn't going to like this one bit" I choked out through my sobs.

"Eclipse will get over it, you did nothing wrong" Carlile said. "But we do need to talk to Charlie about it"

"Honey why don't you stay in here with Edward tonight-do you want me to send the others in?" Esme said.

I simply nodded as I kept crying and they left. I heard a muffled conversation and a few minutes later Emmet,Jasper, and Rosalie walked in.

"Bella?" Jasper asked softly

When I didn't answer I saw them shoot looks to Edward. He nodded towards the bathroom and the three of them walked to the bathroom.

"Oh my god" I heard Rosalie gasp from the bathroom. She ran over to where we were and bent down in front of me.

"It's James's, isn't it" Jasper asked, but it came out as more of a statement.

I nodded and I found myself in the middle of a huge group hug.

"I don't know what's going to happen, but we're not leaving you" Jasper said as he placed a kiss on my forehead.

Just then, Edward's phone buzzed. He picked it up and a few moments later hung up.

"That was my mom. She said that they talked to your manager on the phone and that he wants to talk to you. They're going to come over here and we're all going to sit with you while you talk to him on speakerphone"

There was a knock on the door and Jasper went to answer it. He came back with Carlisle and Esme and we all walked into the living room area and sat down. I stayed in Edward's lap, and Carlisle reached over and dialed the number on the phone. After a few rings, the call connected.

"Hello?" I heard him say.

"Hi" I choked out.

"Bella, Carlisle and Esme called and told me about what is going on. I think the first thing to say is that I'm very sorry that this is happening to you. I think that the first step in this is to get you to the doctor to make sure and to make sure that everything is ok. I also think it is important to tell you that I have talked to the necessary people and your contract still stands. We aren't going to take that away from you because of something that isn't your fault-especially since you have made it public knowledge that you were raped."

"Thank you" I said softly.

"How do you want us to handle any rumors that start flying?" Edward asked.

"Well, that is up to you. This is about to get really tough for you two because everyone is going to be speculating that the baby is yours, Edward. I think that the best way to handle it to tell the truth if it comes up."

"Thank you" Carlile said.

"Oh, and Bella-take care of yourself, ok? You have to try to keep yourself from getting stressed out too much, ok?"

"I'll try"

"Ok, goodnight you guys"

"Goodnight" we chorused.

The line went dead and I couldn't help but fly into sobs again. I was happy that I wasn't going to lose my dream, but I was in no way ready to be a mother. How would I be able to take care of a child and have a career?

"Have you called Jake yet?" Edward asked quietly.

I shook my head, and buried my face in his chest.

Everyone else got up and kissed my forehead or gave me a hug before leaving. After everyone was gone, Edward put the phone back on speaker and dialed Jake's number.

"Hello?" I heard the voice of my brother.

"Jake" I said through my tears, my voice cracking.

"Bella? What's going on? Why are you crying?"

"I'm pregnant" I said quietly.

"WHAT?! Did I not tell you to be careful about your relationship with Edward? You've only been dating two weeks Bella. That means you weren't even dating when you slept with him"

I only started crying harder.

"Jake, will you shut the hell up? It's not mine, it's James's. Do the math" Edward gritted into the phone.

"Oh my god…I'm going to kill him" I heard Jake seethe.

"Jake, I'm scared" I said softly. "They aren't kicking me off the label because it's not my fault, but as soon as I have this baby I won't be able to take care of it and still do music"

"Bella, everything is going to be ok. This may seem like a tragedy right now, but a child is a wonderful thing. You have an incredible support system backing you up. Now, go take a hot shower and try to calm down while I talk to Edward, ok?"

"Ok…bye" I sniffled as I got off of Edward's lap.

**(****Edward**** POV)**

****I was watching Bella walk away into the bedroom when I realized she didn't have any clothes with her.

"Hey, Jake-hold on a minute…your sister is staying in my room and doesn't have any clothes. Let me go get her some sweats, ok?"

"Ok, I'll be here"

I walked into the bedroom to find that Bella had already walked into the bathroom and the water was already running. I went to my suitcase and pulled out a pair of sweats and a T-shirt for her and set them on the bed before walking back to the living room to talk to Jake.

"Ok, I'm back. She was already in the shower so I just set them on the bed. What's up?" I asked him.

"Edward, what are you going to do when the press starts saying that this baby is yours?"

"Well, we talked to Bella's manager and he said that the best thing to do would be to just tell the truth since the public already knows about the rape."

"Edward-"

"I know what you are going to ask, and the answer is no. I'm not going to leave your sister. Even if this relationship doesn't work out romantically, she is still my best friend. But I will tell you what I told her on her birthday. She's it for me Jake, and this baby doesn't change my feelings about that"

"Ok, that's all I needed to know" he said with a relieved tone. "I didn't think that you would ditch her, but I just know how hard this is going to be for her. When Kate was pregnant with Lily, she had morning sickness a lot and was miserable. Bella might have it easier, but I doubt it. I need you to promise me that you'll take care of her since I can't be there."

"I will, I promise. Speaking of which, she's still in the bathroom so I should probably go check on her. She was still crying when she left this conversation."

"Ok-thank you, Edward"

"No problem, bye"

I hung up the phone and walked into the bedroom to find the clothes on the bed untouched. The water was still running so I walked over to the door.

"Bella?" I asked as I knocked on the door. She didn't answer and I didn't hear any noise from inside except for water.

"Bella, please answer me" I said a little louder. There was still no answer or any acknowledgement that I was speaking.

"Bella, answer or I'm coming in" I said as a final plea.

When there was no answer, I tried the handle-hoping to God that it wasn't locked. Thankfully, it turned and the door opened.

I walked into the room to be met with clothes laying on the floor, a foggy mirror, and a ton of steam.

"Bella?" I asked towards the shower.

No answer.

I opened the curtain to be met with a sight that broke my heart. Bella was curled up in a little ball staring into space. Her skin was red and when I felt the water temperature I immediately knew why. It was hot. Really hot.

"Shit" I said as I pulled my hand away from the heat. I reached over and turned the water off and grabbed a towel.

I tried to get her to stand up, but she wasn't moving. I dried her off the best I could while she was sitting down and then scooped her up into my arms and carried her out of the bathroom. Her skin was really hot and I was hoping that it was just from the heat and that she wasn't burned.

I set her down on the bed and finished drying her off. I pulled my sweats onto her and my shirt over her head. She immediately curled back up into the same position that she was in the shower. I took off my shirt that was now wet and changed into a pair of sweatpants.

I walked over, pulled the covers down and then picked her back up and lay her down in bed. She curled back into a ball and just kept staring into space.

I walked to the other room and pulled out my cell phone.

"Hey, is everything ok?" I heard my mother ask.

"No, mom- I don't know what to do. She went to go take a shower because Jake wanted to talk to me. I talked to him for a bit and then realized that she was still in the shower. I went to check on her but she wouldn't answer. I tried several times and when I went in to check on her she was curled up in a ball under scalding hot water just staring into space. She wouldn't stand up so I had to dry her off and carry her out. I put her in some clothes and put her in bed, but she just keeps staring and she keeps curling back up into a ball. I don't know what to do" I said with my voice cracking on the last part.

"Honey, this is going to be a lot like after Austin. This is going to probably bring a lot of memories of that back. There's not much you can do except to hold her and let her know that you are there" she said quietly.

"Thanks mom"

"If you need anything else, call me ok? I don't care what time it is. I love you, sweetie"

"I love you too mom"

After I hung up I walked back into the bedroom and climbed into bed. I pulled the covers over us and pulled her close to me. She slowly uncurled from her ball and put her head on my shoulder. After a few moments of me rubbing her back, I felt hot tears hitting my bare chest.

I looked down and began to kiss her tears away. It must have been soothing to her because her tears slowed and she buried her head in my chest and got as close to me as possible.

"I love you" I whispered as I kissed the top of her head.

She eventually fell asleep, but I could still feel her tears leaking out of her eyes onto my chest.

* * *

**I told you that the story was in no way over, and I didn't lie.**

**I hope I didn't just kill my story with this particular plot twist, but I started typing and this is what came out.**

**Review, I'd love your input and opinions-good or bad**


	19. Chapter 19

**(****Edward**** POV)**

****I awoke the next morning to my cell phone after not sleeping much. Bella cried most of the night in her sleep and I couldn't sleep when I knew she was so upset.

"Edward, I went to Bella's room and got her some clothes. I called a doctor and she's got an appointment in an hour…is she awake?" I heard my mom ask me.

"No, she's not. She is kind of laying on me at the moment; can you use your key and bring them in?" I asked quietly.

"Sure" she said before hanging up. A few moments later I heard the sound of a key being slid into the slot and the door opening. My mother walked in and came to sit on the edge of the bed as she lay Bella's clothes down.

"How's she doing?"

"Well, she cried all night in her sleep. I honestly didn't sleep too much because I was so worried-but that's ok"

"Well, we'd better get her up and ready for her appointment" She said quietly.

I looked down at Bella and started to brush the hair out of her face.

"Bella? Baby, it's time to get up." I said to her.

"Mmmmm too early, more sleep" she mumbled as she buried her face deeper into my chest. My mother and I couldn't help but chuckle.

"Well, she spoke…this is the first time she's said anything since she got off the phone with Jake last night" I said with a slight smile.

"Bella, really-you have to get up. My mom made you a doctor's appointment for 9AM…it's 8AM right now" I said as I kissed her forehead.

Her eyes fluttered open and she looked at me. She buried her face in my chest again and mumbled something.

"What?" I asked her quietly.

"I'm scared to go to the doctor"

"Hey, it's going to be ok…you need to make sure you're healthy"

"Can you go with me?" She asked as she looked up at me with her brown eyes.

I wanted nothing more than to go with her and be there, but I wasn't sure if my parents would want that.

"Umm" I said as I looked at my mother.

"That shouldn't be a problem, honey. We'll both go with you if you want" my mother smiled.

I felt her smile into my chest and I heard a mumbled 'thank you'.

"My mom brought you some clothes over so go get dressed, ok? You need to eat something before we go" I told her as I kissed her forehead.

She rolled out of bed and grabbed her clothes off the end of the bed and walked to the bathroom. I also climbed out of bed and walked over to my suitcase to grab clothes as my mother left the room.

I was changed and waiting for Bella when she came out of the bathroom. I quickly went to brush my teeth and after we were ready, I put my arm around her as we walked out of the room to go grab some food.

It was now 8:45 and I was headed to a car with my mom, Bella and Big Steve. We got into the car and my Big Steve started driving to the address my mother gave him. We pulled up outside the doctor's office and Big Steve stayed in the car.

We walked into the clinic and mom went to tell the nurse at the desk that we were here. I went to sit with Bella in the corner and mom soon joined us. Bella put her head on my shoulder and I grabbed her hand as we waited.

"Bella Swan?" a nurse called from the doorway.

The three of us got up and headed towards the doorway. We paused a few feet in and the nurse had Bella step onto a scale.

"120" the nurse said.

We walked to an exam room and the nurse took Bella's blood pressure after she had sat down and after she finished, she handed Bella a plastic cup.

"I need you to fill this halfway for me, ok?" Bella nodded and walked into the bathroom. A few minutes later she returned and handed the cup to the nurse.

"I'll go test this and the doctor will be back soon with your results" the nurse said as she smiled and walked out of the room.

"How are you doing, Bella" I asked her.

"I'm ok" she whispered.

About 20 minutes later, a doctor that appeared to be in her 30s walked in the door.

"Well, Bella, you are definitely pregnant. Congratulations!" The doctor said as she sat down.

I let out a sigh and Bella started crying.

"Judging by your reactions, I'm guessing that this wasn't a planned venture for you two?"

"She was raped about a month ago. I'm just her boyfriend" I answered softly as I shook my head.

"Oh, I'm so sorry dear"

"It's ok" Bella said quietly.

The rest of the appointment went quite smoothly and the doctor told us about what we should expect from the pregnancy. She told us things like what foods to avoid and how much weight she should be gaining. She also gave us a prescription for prenatal vitamins and told us that Bella needed another appointment in a month.

We thanked her and left the office. We saw a photographer take a picture of us as we left the clinic and Bella started crying.

"It's ok" I whispered in her ear.

"Your purity is going to be dragged through the mud by tonight…how is that ok?" she asked.

"Look, my whole family-including me- is ready to deal with the rumors, ok? Please don't stress yourself out about it"

"I'll try not to" she whispered as we got into the car. We drove to get her vitamins before meeting the others for food.

*PFH*PFH*

W e walked into a diner and walked to where the others were waiting in the back corner. Everyone looked at us expectantly and I just nodded.

We sat down at the table and ordered food and when the waitress set the food down, Bella got up from the table and ran to the bathroom.

"Honey, why don't you go see if she's ok" mom said.

I slowly got up from the table and knocked on the bathroom door.

"Bella? Can I come in?"

I heard a weak yes from in between the sounds of vomiting and I opened the door and stepped inside.

She was crouched over the toilet puking her guts up into the toilet. I grabbed her hair to hold it back for her and rubbed circles on her back. When she was done I helped her up and she washed her mouth out at the sink.

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I think I'm better now"

"I love you" I said. She started laughing.

"Why are you laughing?"

"I'm sorry, I just think it's funny that you told me you love me right after you walked in on my puking my guts up"

"I'll always love you, no matter what" I said as I kissed her forehead.

"I love you too"

We walked back out to the table and my mom immediately asked her how she was.

"Is everything ok honey?"

"Yeah, I just felt a little sick. I'm fine now." Bella smiled softly.

We started eating our food and I noticed that Bella was pushing her food around on her plate without eating it. I leaned over and kissed her temple before whispering in her ear.

"You need to eat…please"

She just nodded and started eating. After we were done we all headed back to the venue for sound check.

A few hours later we were getting ready for the show and Bella was about to walk to the lift to start her set.

"What if I get sick onstage" she whispered as I gave her a hug.

"You'll be fine, sweetie" I said as I pulled her into a quick kiss.

I watched her walk to the lift and start her set. I loved watching her perform. She got lost in the music and for the brief time she was onstage, it seemed like nothing was wrong. I knew that the song for her father was going to be especially hard tonight, and I was right. She was singing the last song of her set and I could hear the tears in her voice. She all of a sudden paused in the middle of the song and the only sounds you could hear in the whole arena were little sobs coming through the microphone.

After a few moments she started playing and finished the rest of the song with tears flowing down her face. I had to go get on the lifts so we could go on, but all I really wanted to do was kiss her tears away.

"Go, I'll take care of her" my mom whispered.

I listened to the rest of the song from underneath the stage. I heard her introduce us with raw emotion in her voice and the lifts began to rise.

Every time I was on that side of the stage that night, I looked over to check on her to see her lying with her head in my mom's lap. It came time for "One Thing" and Emmet shot me a look as he picked a little girl from the audience to sing with him.

I introduced Bella for "Good Time" as the little girl went to sit back down, and she came running onto the stage waving with a smile plastered on her face.

We sang the song and we all gave her a hug at the end.

"Awwwwwww" the audience chorused as I kissed her forehead. I smiled as she blushed.

"Go get some sleep" I whispered in her ear.

I watched her walk away and go talk to my mom backstage.

**(****Bella**** POV)**

****Edward was right, I was a little tired. I walked offstage and went to find Esme.

"I'm going to go to my dressing room and lay down, ok?"

"I'll go with you" I heard Rosalie chorus. I shot her a look and opened my mouth to protest when she cut me off.

"The boys will understand…you're my best friend" She said as she grabbed my hand and started walking.

We entered my dressing room and I immediately went to the couch and lay down. Rosalie came over and lifted my head up and placed it in her lap as she started to play with my hair.

"Are you ok?" She sighed.

"I think I'm still a little shocked and scared. I mean, I've always wanted kids, but I wanted them later when I was married. I mean, Edward is great and everything but it's not the same as being married. It's not the same as having the baby's father with you. It doesn't make it any better that a photographer got a picture of us coming out of the clinic today" I sighed.

"I know you've heard this a lot the past couple of days, but everything's going to be ok"

"So what's up with you and Emmet?" I smirked as I looked up at her. Her face went scarlet.

"He kind of, well, asked me out for the next day off yesterday on the bus. I was going to tell you but then all of this happened and we figured it could wait."

"Rosalie! That's amazing! I know how much you like him…I'm so happy for you" I said sincerely.

"Yeah, well…we'll see what happens, I guess."

I lay my head back down on her lap and found myself drifting off to sleep as she continued to play with my hair.

The next thing I knew I was being awakened by Edward whispering in my ear. My eyes fluttered open and I found that I had been moved to where my head was in his lap.

"Hey" I whispered.

"Hey…it's time to go back to the bus" I nodded and stood up. He wrapped his arm around my waist and we met up with the others to walk outside.

After signing autographs and taking pictures, we finally made it to the bus. I drank some water and took my vitamin. I decided to check the internet while I was waiting for the boys to be done in the bathroom. I went to Perez Hilton's page and saw the picture of Esme,Edward and me coming out of the clinic. And I started reading the story underneath it.

_Edward Cullen and girlfriend __Bella Swan__ were spotted exiting the Clinic For New Mothers in Orlando, Florida this morning. Momma __Cullen__ was with them also. Could it be possible that the oldest brother may not be as pure as everyone thinks. Could there be a baby __Cullen__ on the way? I wonder how __Eclipse__ is going to feel about this._

I sighed and started hitting my head on the table. I all of a sudden felt my head come down on a hand instead of the table. I looked up to see a shirtless Edward in sweatpants looking at me.

"Why are you hitting your head?" he asked as he slid in next to me. I gestured towards the screen and he sighed when he saw the picture.

"I told you that it would happen, and I also told you that it's going to be ok. Now go get changed and we'll go to bed, ok?"

I nodded and got up to go change. I walked out of the bathroom in sweats and a tank top and walked to Edward's bunk. I slid in next to him and buried my head in his chest as he wrapped his arms around me.

"I love you" I mumbled. I felt him kiss the top of my head as I fell asleep.

Maybe everyone's right-maybe everything WILL be ok.

* * *

**I'm happy that those of you who reviewed don't hate me for the plot twist. Bella will catch a break eventually...I promise. Just not yet**

**Review!**

**Review, Review!**


	20. Chapter 20

**I loved writing some of the reactions in this chapter...I hope you enjoy reading it just as much.**

**This is totally a semi-filler chapter, but I try to put something important in every chapter...**

**review!**

* * *

It was one week later and it was the day my single was dropping. I was really excited, but I was dreading the interview I had that day. We were in Atlanta and I was currently on my way to a studio with Edward for an interview. Edward wasn't being interviewed, but he wanted to come with me for moral support because we both knew that the rumors about us were most likely going to be addressed-this was the first interview that either of us had done since the rumors started. The boys had the day off so they were going to listen to it on the radio.

We pulled up to the station and Big Steve came around to let us out of the car. There were fans outside the station that screamed for both of us. We signed a few autographs and took some pictures before we were ushered inside.

The man, whose name was Adam, greeted me as I walked into the room during a commercial break.

"Is that Edward Cullen with you?" he asked me.

"Yes"

He signaled for Edward to come into the room.

"Edward, why don't you sit in on the interview, I'd love to have you in there as well" Adam smiled coyly.

Edward looked through the glass at his father and he nodded yes.

"Um, yeah sure" Edward said apprehensively as he shot me a look.

They got Edward a pair of headphones and we sat down in front of the single microphone that was on the table. He was just getting them put on when the break ended.

"That was 'We Are Young' by Fun. Joining me in the studio is Bella Swan and her boyfriend, Edward Cullen. Edward, we were expecting Bella, but you're a surprise. Where are your brothers?"

"Oh, well we had the day off and I decided to come here with Bella to help celebrate the release of her single. My brothers are actually listening to us right now."

"Oh, I see. So, Bella-I've heard the new single and I must say that I like it a lot."

"Well, thank you. That means a lot" I smiled.

"What is that song about actually, is it about Edward?" he said with a wink.

"Well, honestly-no. I wasn't dating Edward at the time and I hadn't been kissed. I actually borrowed that story from my best friend's prom experience from high school" I chuckled.

"I bet it means a lot more now though, doesn't it"

"I guess you could say that I have a new found love and appreciation for the song, yes" I smiled as I looked at Edward."

"So, I'd hate to bring this up, but you know I have to. There have been pictures and rumors circulating about you being pregnant. Is this true?"

Edward put his hand on my knee when I shot him a glance. I looked at Carlisle through the window and he nodded and gave me an encouraging smile.

"Unfortunately, that rumor is true." I said quietly.

"Really…" the DJ smiled wickedly. "So you two aren't as pure as you claim to be?"

I didn't know how to answer that, and Edward must have noticed.

"It's not mine" he said softly.

"Oh, so she cheated on you? That's classy" the DJ scoffed.

If looks could kill, that DJ would be dead right now with the looks Edward was sending him.

"No, I didn't thank you very much. You might remember the fact that I was raped a little over a month ago? This is a product of that" I gritted through my teeth.

"So then why was Edward with you at the Clinic if the child isn't even his?" Adam asked slyly.

"Because I'm her boyfriend and I care about her" Edward answered.

"If you ask me, you should just get an abortion and get over it. It seems a little off to be pregnant with a baby with a man you aren't even dating. Edward, I would think that you wouldn't want to have anything to do with her."

I placed a protective hand on my stomach as he said this and looked over at Edward. His eyes were wide and he placed a hand on my stomach as well.

"Did you seriously just say that, man?"

"So you mean to say that you are still going to stay with her even though she's pregnant with another man's child? Don't you have an image to uphold?" The DJ asked rudely.

By now I was near tears at the fact that I was here to talk about my single on what was supposed to be a happy day for me, and this DJ was ruining it by telling me to get an abortion and Edward to break up with me.

"What happened was not her fault. She didn't ask for it, nor did she want it. Since when should someone be blacklisted for being attacked? As far as our image goes, our fans and the public know about what happened-so I'm not sure how this is ruining the image of me or my brothers" Edward said calmly.

"So your brothers don't care that you're dating a slut?"

Edward was seething and I looked over to see the phones ringing off the hook.

"You're on the air, do you have a question or comment?"

"Yeah, we have quite a few comments actually." I heard a very familiar voice say. Edward and I exchanged a look and we couldn't help but smile. "Our brother is not dating a slut. I think you must be talking about a different Bella, because the one that WE know is nowhere near that."

"Thank you Emmet" I said softly.

"No problem, Bella"

"You aren't ruining our image, Bella. Don't ever think that you are. That baby is already loved by all of us so don't you listen to what he's saying." That was Jasper.

"I totally agree, Jas. What do you think Em?" Edward smirked at the DJ.

"I think he should take some caller questions" Emmet said. I looked at Carlisle through the window and he was shaking his head with a grin on his face and Big Steve was laughing.

"Um, yeah….thanks for calling in guys-always a pleasure" Adam said quickly as he switched to another caller.

"You're on the air, what's your question?"

"My name is Rey and I actually just have a comment. I think that you are way out of line with what you said and I think you are lucky that they haven't walked out of your interview-I sure as hell would have. I don't think it's appropriate to call someone a slut for being raped. You always talk about how you aren't married-maybe your blatant disrespect for women is the reason why"

I stifled a laugh at this. It's always nice to see a DJ get chewed out.

"I'm 20, and I was the victim of rape as well; I have a beautiful 3 year old daughter as a result. And I want you to know, Bella, that though it may seem horrible right now, once you hold that little baby in your arms you'll see it as a miracle." She continued.

I smiled and a few tears welled up in my eyes.

"Thank you, that means a lot to me Rey"

"It's no problem. I love your new single, by the way-I bought it on ITunes at midnight and I can't wait for your CD to come out! Are you going to release anymore songs before the album comes out?"

"Aww, thank you-and I hadn't really thought about it, but now that you have brought that idea up, I'll definitely have to think about it" I smiled.

After that the interview wrapped up pretty quickly. I don't think the DJ liked being chewed out very much.

We walked out without acknowledging the DJ and joined Carlisle and Big Steve. We walked out and signed a few autographs and went to the car. It wasn't until we started driving that Carlisle spoke.

"Jasper's right, you know. That baby is already loved by all of us-we couldn't love it anymore if it was our flesh and blood" Carlisle said.

"Thanks Carlisle" I smiled.

"And you know I'll always have your back" Big Steve added.

"Thanks Big Steve"

We met up with the rest of the Cullen clan and Rosalie at a small restaurant that was close to the venue, and Emmet and Jasper were still seething about the DJ.

"Thank you guys for calling in, it made me smile" I told them.

"Ah, well that guy was way out of line and he needed to know that. We were contemplating calling in to say hi anyway, but then when he said you should get an abortion we snapped. The only reason we didn't call in sooner is because our mom and Rosalie made us calm down a little bit before we called." Emmet said.

Edward came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist-placing his hands on my tummy protectively.

We were seated, ordered, and ate our food and we ran back to the venue and made it just in time for sound check.

The show that night was incredible-some of the fans had obviously heard the interview this morning and had several supportive signs. My favorite said "WE LOVE YOUR BABY TOO!" It made me smile to know that I had support from the fans as well.

It was great to be able to perform without worrying about losing fans, or being judged. After I finished my duet with the boys, they each gave me a kiss on the forehead, but this time instead of hugging me they each put a hand on my tummy over the baby.

I walked offstage smiling and danced around with Rosalie for the rest of the show-losing myself in the music...all the while with a hand on my stomach.

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**Like I said, I try to put something important in the "filler" chapters...in this one I really wanted to show how protective everyone is of Bella and her baby.**

**Input and criticism are welcomed and encouraged...that means review!**


	21. Chapter 21

Three weeks later and a lot had happened. I wasn't showing yet, seeing as I was only 2 months along, but I was due for my second appointment.

We were in St. Louis and Edward,Esme and I were headed out to my appointment at a local OB-GYN that Esme had looked up. It would be so much easier when we get back to LA and I can have the same doctor on all of my visits.

We arrived, checked in, and waited for my name to be called. They called my name and the nurse took me back to be weighed on my way to the room.

"132" she said.

We walked into the room and the nurse took my blood pressure. She told me that the doctor would be in shortly and left the room.

A few minutes later, the doctor walked in.

"Hello, Miss Swan-how are you doing today?"

"I'm about as good as can be expected, I guess." I sighed.

The doctor chuckled slightly as he started flipping through my chart.

"So, it says here that you weighed in today at 132-correct?" I nodded my head. "Can you tell me what you weighed at your first checkup in Orlando?"

"120 I think" He frowned slightly at this.

"Hmm, you should have gained more than 12 pounds by this stage in your pregnancy. I'm going to go ahead and do an ultrasound in a bit to make sure everything is ok with the baby, ok?"

I nodded my head again, and the doctor continued to ask questions.

"Have you been having any morning sickness?"

"I don't have it all the time, but when I do it wipes me out and I can't keep anything down."

"Ok, well, that should start toning down in the next month or so. I am going to tell you that you need to get your weight up, however, ok?"

"Ok" I nodded as he stood up and left the room. He came back a few minutes later pushing a cart.

"Alright, I need you to lay down for me and pull your shirt up over your stomach." I did as he said and Edward moved to stand beside me and grabbed my hand.

"Now this is going to be a little cold, ok?" I winced as he squeezed some gel onto my stomach. He picked up the transducer and started moving it around on my stomach.

We could see fuzzy black and white shapes on the screen but I couldn't make anything out.

"Now, that spot right there is your baby" he said as he pointed to the screen. I grinned when I saw what he was talking about and felt Edward squeeze my hand.

"Now we should be able to hear the heartbeat" he said as he continued to move around my stomach. All of a sudden a quick noise filled the room.

"Is that-" Edward started.

"And that, is your baby's heartbeat."

Tears immediately came to my eyes and they fell when I looked over at Esme. She was grinning at the screen and I felt Edward kiss my temple.

"That's your baby" he whispered excitedly.

I just chuckled at how excited he was when it wasn't even his child.

"It looks like the baby is developing quite nicely, but like I said-just be sure to get your weight up a little bit. You should be showing a little bit fairly soon, and at the next appointment you should be able to find out what gender it is if you would like to know. You need another checkup in about a month."

I smiled as he wiped the gel off of my stomach and we thanked him as he walked out.

We met up with the others at the venue and I couldn't get the smile off of my face.

"Well, how'd it go?" Rosalie asked.

"We heard the heartbeat" I said quietly. The faces of the boys and Rosalie lit up at this and they all gave me hugs.

"Nuh uh! That's awesome! Is that all that happened?"

"He told me I wasn't gaining enough weight" I pouted.

"Honey, you have to gain weight-you're supposed to when you're pregnant" Edward chuckled slightly.

"I know" I said softly.

The concert that night went well and I couldn't believe that the tour only had two weeks left. We only had ten shows left, and then the makeup show in Dallas that was cancelled.

We were all on the bus after the show when my cell phone went off. I looked down to see that it was my manager.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Hello, Bella. How are you and your baby doing today?"

"We're great, actually-thanks for asking" I smiled.

"Ah, well that is good to hear. I'm very impressed about how you guys have been handling the rumors and media, and I've actually called with some good news"

"Oh, ok. What is it?"

"Well, we have decided to film the music video for 'Fearless' right after the tour ends. We figured that you'd want to do it before you started showing much."

"Yeah, you figured right" I laughed.

"Well, we have a really neat concept for the video and I was going to get your input on the guy for it. I will tell you right now that you have to kiss him because of the line in the song, but I'm also going to say that you can pick the guy. If Edward wants to do it it's fine with us as long as his family and PR person agree."

"I'll talk to him about that and call you back, ok?"

"Ok. Keep taking care of yourself"

"Thanks, I will" I said before hanging up the phone.

"Hey, Edward-can I talk to you really quick?" I asked him as I put my phone back in my pocket.

"Yeah, sure" we got up and headed away from his brothers and to the back room.

"What's up?" he asked as we sat down.

"Well, that as Charlie on the phone and he called to tell me that I'm filming the music video for 'Fearless' right after the tour ends. He said that there's a really cool concept for the video, and that because of the fact that I'm dating you and I have to kiss the guy in the video I get to pick the guy."

"You have to kiss someone else?" He asked quietly.

"Not if the guy is you" I looked him in his eyes.

"You want me to be in your video? Will Charlie be ok with that?"

"Actually, he said that it was fine with them if you wanted to do it and that you just needed the ok from your brothers and PR person since it's not only your career"

"I would love to, Bella. I'll talk to my brothers and parents tonight. My dad will handle the PR person"

"Ok, I'm going to go to sleep I think, or at least try to. I'm really tired" He nodded, gave me a kiss and yelled for his brothers to meet him in the back as I walked out.

I went to change and curled up in my bunk. I was almost asleep when Edward crawled in.

"They said that it's fine with them and I called my parents too. They said that it was OK with them and my dad said he'd call PR in the morning"

"Good, I didn't want to have to kiss some stranger" I smiled into his chest.

He kissed my forehead and I fell asleep to the sound of his heartbeat under my ear.

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Review, please?


	22. Chapter 22

Two weeks later and it was August 30-the night of the last show of the tour. We were in Dallas, and my brother, Lily, and Aro had decided to come out for it.

Of course the first thing my brother did was give me a hug and put his hand on tummy.

"You look beautiful. How is my niece or nephew doing?"

"We're both fine…sad that the tour is over, but happy to see you" I smiled at him as he kissed my forehead.

"Did you bring the stuff I asked you too?" I whispered

"Yeah, I did…what exactly did you need all of this for again?"

"We're pranking the boys…but shhhhhh"

"Oh, ok"

I took the paper bag from him and went to stash it in my dressing room. I had to get ready for the show and the whole time I was really worried about the pranks the boys were going to pull tonight.

It was time for the show and I gave everyone a hug and started to walk to the lift. I felt a hand on my wrist and I turned around to have a pair of lips meet mine.

"Have a good last show" Edward whispered against my lips as he pulled away.

"You too, I love you" I responded.

I gave him another kiss and winked at him over my shoulder as I walked away.

The lift rose and I started into "Born This Way". After I was finished with the song I started to talk to the audience.

"How's everybody doing tonight?" I yelled into the microphone. The crowd cheered back and I smiled at them.

"It is so great to see you all here toni-" I started but was cut off.

_I'm too sexy for my love  
Too sexy for my love  
Love's going to leave me_

I shook my head as I looked back at the lift. I saw all three Cullens boys rising through the stage and Emmet started strutting down the stairs. This was so much better than Karaoke night because all three were involved and dancing around like idiots.

I just stood and laughed at them while they sang their shortened version of the song.

"_And I shake my little tush on the catwalk" _They all sang to end it right before the lift dropped.

The crowd was cracking up, and I couldn't help but join them.

"Well, that was a perfect demonstration of what I was TRYING to say before I was interrupted. This is the last show of the tour, meaning pranks will probably abound. Most of them will probably be on me, but that's ok." I laughed.

I started back into my set and began enjoying performing. I sang the rest of my set with no pranks and I went to meet up with Rosalie after introducing the boys. We were getting everything ready for our prank on them.

I was standing backstage ready to go onstage for the duet. The boys had reached the part of "One Thing" where they sing with a fan when I heard my name being called from the stage. I looked up to see Emmet walking towards me, grabbing my hand, and pulling me onstage.

"Now, we usually sing with a fan for this next part of the song, but we decided to switch it up a little bit and sing TO our littlest fan."

At this, all three of them got down on their knees where their faces were even with my stomach. They all three put a hand on my stomach as the band kicked back into the song. They all three smiled at me as they began to sing to my unborn baby.

_Something's gotta give now_

_Cause I'm dying just to make you see_

_That I need you here with me now_

_Cause you've got that one thing_

I couldn't help it-I was crying. This was so unbelievably sweet.

So get out, get out, get out of my head

_And fall into my arms instead_

_I don't, I don't, don't know what it is_

_But I need that one thing_

_And you've got that one thing_

"We can't wait to meet you, little one" they all said quietly. There was a collective "Awwwwwww" from the audience as they said that.

They stood up and kissed my forehead.

"Now how in the world am I supposed to sing after that?" I laughed into the microphone.

"Easy, you open your mouth" Emmet said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

They started into "Good Time" and after it was over I walked backstage to get ready to prank the boys. We heard the boys start talking as the intro to "Kiss You" and that was our cue. They had already said they were going to call Riley out to help them with the song tonight so that made it the perfect excuse to go out onstage.

When they called Riley out, Rosalie and I just walked out with him. Rosalie and I had our hands behind our backs.

"What are you two doing out here" Emmet asked skeptically.

"We just thought we'd come out and help with the song too-we felt left out" Rosalie pouted.

"We figured if Riley got to come out, we should get to too" I said as I winked at the band that had come down to the front of the stage for the song.

"Who are you winking at" Jasper asked.

As he said that the band started spraying the three of them with shaving cream and silly string. Rosalie and I decided to join in on the fun too and the audience started cracking up.

"NOT FAIR!" Emmet yelled into the microphone.

"Well, like we said, we felt left out-I've gotten pranked, it was YOUR turn" I smiled devilishly.

We had run out of ammo and the guys were covered. They started walking at us and Rosalie and I just ran offstage and giggled.

Esme was cracking up backstage. I felt kind of bad because they had three songs left to do like that, although it was pretty great because they played it up. Emmet covered Jasper's hair in shaving cream, and gave himself a shaving cream beard.

They were actually pretty cool about it, they didn't try to get us back and wouldn't hug us until they showered….especially since they got in a fight with the foam blasters during "Up All Night".

I was excited-the tour may be over, but I knew it's just the beginning of the ride.

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**Review?  
**


	23. Chapter 23

**Ok, this chapter really is the longest one yet (3959 words), this one is the shoot of Bella's first music video.**

**It took me a long time to write -I didn't want the video to be really cheesy, and I'm still not happy with it.**

**I put the song on repeat and tried to come up with a cool concept, but i think I failed miserably... :(**

**Read and review! Next chapter will probably be up later today!**

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After the show last night, we all headed back to the hotel for night. I ended up staying in Edward's room with him again, we'd been doing that at every hotel in case I got sick or something. We had both gotten ready for bed and packed up our stuff so we could split off from the group tomorrow. Edward,Esme and I were going to do my video shoot for the next two or three days here in Texas while the others went back to LA. My brother and Lily were going to go back to LA so they could visit for a bit after we got back.

"You know, singing to my baby was the most adorable thing I've ever seen you three do" I said as we climbed into the bed.

"Well, obviously…it made you cry" he teased.

"Shut up, it really was cute" I pouted as I put my hand on my tummy. I had a baby bump, but you couldn't really tell it was there when I had a T-Shirt or dress on.

"I know, that was the point. Well, also that we seriously can't wait to meet it" he said, placing his hand on top of mine.

"I love you, Edward" I said

"I love you too, Bella" he whispered as we fell asleep.

I woke up and looked at the clock to see that it was 5:15 AM. I tried so hard to get back to sleep, but it just wouldn't work so I decided to just shower and start my day.

I took of my shirt as I was walking to the bathroom, turned the water on and took my underwear off while I waited for the water to reach the temperature I wanted. I jumped in the shower and ran my face under the water and just stood under the stream trying to fully wake myself up.

I squeezed shampoo into my hand and began to work it into my scalp when I felt two hands take over for me. I turned around to see the set of eyes that I could gaze into forever.

He pulled me into a kiss with his hands still in my hair. I felt him nibble my bottom lip, and when I gasped at the sensation he slid his tongue in. The kisses started off slow and passionate but then got more and more heated. He started to nibble on my collar bone and I couldn't believe what he was making me feel.

"Edward" I moaned out.

He moved back up my neck and the side of my face to my ear to whisper in it.

"Wake up, Bella" I felt him breathe into my ear.

"What?"

"Bella, wake up" someone was shaking me now. "Come on, open your eyes."

I opened my eyes to see Edward looking back at me, except we were in bed. I looked over at the clock to see that it was 6:30.

"Nice dream?" he asked.

"What?" I asked.

"Well, you were moaning my name…" he was smirking. My eyes went wide and my face went red.

"I was not" I said as I rolled onto my back.

"Oh, so you're cheating on me with another guy named Edward…I get it" He said teasingly.

"No, I only dream about one Edward" I immediately slapped my hand over my mouth and got wide-eyed again. Stupid word vomit.

"So you admit it" he said cheekily.

"Fine, ok? It was about you. Are you happy now?"

"What was it about?" He said as he scooted over to me.

"That's for me to know and you to find out at a much later date. We have to get ready to go-we have to leave in 25 minutes." I said as I got up and headed to the bathroom to get dressed.

I came out of the bathroom a few minutes later to find Edward still in bed.

"Edward, why are you still in bed?"

"I was waiting for you to get out of the bathroom"

He got up and quickly walked to the bathroom and a few seconds later I heard the shower come on. I chuckled and knocked on the door.

"Come in"

"How could you possibly need a cold shower when we didn't do anything? We haven't even kissed this morning" I laughed as I poked my head in the door.

"I guess the knowledge that you have been having sex dreams about me did the trick" he said sticking his head out from behind the curtain.

I just laughed and closed the door. I loved the fact that just the knowledge of something drove him crazy. I couldn't wait to marry him someday so it wouldn't have to be just dreams and knowledge.

Wait, did I really just think that?

When Edward exited the bathroom a few minutes later (fully clothed) I was just sitting on the bed staring into space.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

"I just had a weird thought as I was walking out here from the bathroom"

"What was it?" He asked me.

"I was thinking about how I love the fact that even the knowledge of something about me drove you crazy and turned you on"

"You've told me that before"

"That wasn't the crazy thought"

"Ok…"

"Then I thought that I couldn't wait to marry you so it wouldn't have to be just knowledge of facts or dreams anymore. I don't know why, it just came to mind. And that probably was really awkward and weird of me to say" I looked away quickly.

"No, it wasn't. I've thought the same thing before" he said as he pulled me into a kiss.

We were interrupted by a knock on our door. Edward went to answer it and a few seconds later, Esme walked into the room.

"Are you guys ready to go? We're headed off for the shoot and the others want to wish you luck before we leave" she smiled.

We grabbed her stuff and followed her down to the lobby to meet the others. They all wished me luck and said that they would see me in a couple of days.

The shoot was in a small town a little over an hour outside of Dallas. As soon as we arrived we were rushed to meet with the director about the concept and the different shots we were going to do that day.

The concept of the video was basically the story of a couple's relationship and how the girl fell in love with her boyfriend. It was going to be told in flashback after prom. We were going to film us leaving the prom and dancing in the rain-flashing back to different parts of our relationship. The different scenes were things like driving in the car hanging out, the first date, and the first kiss.

We were escorted to get ready for the first shot. Apparently the first shot I was doing was just me singing the whole song to the camera.

"And playback…action" the director said.

I heard the music come on and I just performed it like I would on stage-just not moving around as much. We did a few takes of it that way, and then they did a few of me 'playing' my guitar to it. However, to make it look real I actually did play it. I had Edward stand behind the cameramen and I just sang it to him and forgot that everyone was there.

"Ok, I think we're good on that. Get ready for the car scene"

I was ushered to wardrobe once again to change outfits, and then to hair and makeup to change that too.

When I finally walked out I saw a dirt road and Edward leaning on an old mustang grinning. There were dollies attached to the bottom of the car on each side for the cameras to ride on. I guess Edward was actually going to be driving.

"My lady" he said cheesily as he opened the door for me.

"Why thank you" I smiled as I climbed in.

I immediately put my feet up on the dashboard while he got in. The director started talking to us through a walkie talkie that was sitting in between us.

"Ok guys, this scene is just supposed to be you guys hanging out after you've already started dating"

"So basically, you want us to act like we would on any normal day?" I asked.

"Yeah, I guess so" the director laughed.

"Playback…..and action"

The music started playing and Edward started driving. We started talking and he cracked a joke and I started laughing. He put his hand on my knee and looked over at me. His gaze was so intense, I had to look away blushing.

The director had us do that scene a few more times before we were whisked off to get dressed for the first date stuff. We took our time because it had to be getting dark for the next few scenes. They put Edward in nice pants and a button up shirt and I was in a casual dress.

When we were ready, we headed to a restaurant that was down the street. All the locations were really close together, but wouldn't look like it in the video.

When we reached the restaurant, they had hosed the parking lot down and had lights on it so it would "glow" and the mustang was sitting in the lot.

We walked into the restaurant and when we heard the director yell action, Edward opened the door for me and we walked out with a bit of distance between us. We walked to the car and he walked around to my door and opened it for me. I climbed in and watched him as he got into the other side. They filmed us driving off.

They had us do that a few more times before the dollies were reattached to the car to film interior shots of the drive.

This time he ran his hand through his hair at some point and gazed at me a lot. I was supposed to act kind of shy and blush a bit…not a problem, trust me.

They had gotten the resident of a nearby house (that was gorgeous) to let us film on their front porch for the kiss.

"playback….and action" I heard the director say. We filmed Edward and I walking up to the doorstep and when we got there I had to act all nervous. Again, not a problem, there were tons of people watching-including his mother. He pulled me in for a kiss and I kissed him back. It was the most tender, loving kiss he has ever given me.

"Cut!" We heard the director shout. "Um, I don't actually think we need to do that again…I think we got the shot on the first take"

Edward pouted at this.

"Why are you pouting?" I asked him, still in his arms.

"Cause I don't get to kiss you for the video anymore"

Everyone laughed at him as he said this and the director spoke again.

"Well, maybe we can work something into the rain stuff"

"OOO kissing in the rain…we haven't done that yet" he smiled…I swear he sounded like a five year old when he said that.

"Ok everyone, that's a wrap for today. I'll see you at the other location tomorrow at 6:30 PM."

"Why aren't we doing it all in one day again?" I asked.

"Your manager was quite adamant about the fact that he didn't want you staying late into the night and it's already 10. By the time we got to the other location, got everything set, and got you ready, it would be almost midnight. We scheduled it for tomorrow to make it easier on you" the director laughed. "There is such a thing as needing sleep when you're pregnant…so go sleep" the director smiled.

We went and changed out of wardrobe and got into the car with Esme and headed to a hotel. We got two rooms that joined in the middle and Edward and I walked into one and Esme the other.

We said our goodnights about midnight and the joining door was left cracked open.

I woke up to find that it was 2AM and that I was extremely nauseous. I quietly ran towards the bathroom and closed the door.

I thought I was done with this…I hadn't thrown up in almost three weeks. A few minutes later I felt my hair being pulled back and a hand on my lower back. When I finished, he got me a glass of water to wash my mouth out with and I wiped my mouth. I walked back to bed feeling much better.

I woke up again about 45 minutes later to have to run to the bathroom again. That's how it was all night, and Edward got up with me every single time. By the eighth or ninth time it was just dry heaving and I had tears streaming down my face.

Edward went and woke his mom up and a few minutes later he was back and carrying me back to bed. I looked at the clock to see that it was 7 AM.

"Why is this happening all of a sudden, I haven't thrown up in three weeks" I said through my tears. The dry heaving had really hurt my stomach a lot.

"Sometimes it happens sweetie, just hang in there" Esme said as she felt my head.

I curled up in bed and saw Edward and his mother walk into the next room. They didn't shut the door, though and I could still hear what they were saying.

"Mom, is this really just morning sickness?"

"Well, she doesn't have a fever-she would if she was actually sick. How was she in between episodes?"

"She acted like she always has" he said quietly.

"Well, the end of the first trimester is the hardest for some women, first time pregnancies are sometimes even harder. The same thing happened to me when I was pregnant with you"

"Wow, I'm really sorry mom" I heard Edward say.

"It wasn't your fault" Esme laughed and I couldn't help but chuckle a bit.

A few moments later I felt Edward climb into bed and lay down beside me.

"How are you feeling?" he asked quietly as he brushed the hair off of my forehead.

"A bit better, actually…I think I might be done. I hope so anyway, my stomach already hurts from dry heaving so damn much."

He wrapped his arms around me and kissed my forehead as I fell asleep. I woke a few hours later to see that it was almost 1:30 PM.

"Hey sleepyhead" Edward whispered.

"I'm hungry" I mumbled into his chest.

"Hi to you too" Edward chuckled.

"Ugh, fine. Hi….I'm hungry and so is the baby" I said as Edward just laughed.

"My mom went out to get us some food. We figured you'd be waking up soon. And besides, the director called earlier and said he needs us to go early because we need to redo some of the in-car stuff, so if you hadn't woken up we were going to wake you up. We have to be there at 4 PM"

There was a knock on the joining door as if right on cue.

"Come in" Edward said loudly.

Esme came in holding bags of food and I immediately grabbed one and started to fill my empty stomach.

"Well, I guess that answers our question" Esme laughed as she and Edward began to eat. When we were all done eating, we all three showered and by 3:30 we were packed up and headed towards the car to take us back to the first location.

When we arrived we were taken into hair and makeup.

It was 5 PM by the time we got done and we headed out to the mustang. We were shooting the "hanging out" car shots again-something about needing more shots to edit with.

It was hard for me to keep my energy up, but somehow I managed to. We finished up at about 6 PM, changed out of wardrobe, and jumped into the car to drive to the second location.

We arrived at the town high school at 6:30 and were taken inside to do hair, makeup, and wardrobe. We had a bit of time before it got dark, so we didn't have to rush much. They curled my hair into beach waves and pinned a flower in my hair. I couldn't help but laugh at the similarities to the outfit I wore on Valentine's Day-the dress was even the same color.

I met up with Edward outside right as the sun was setting. He wrapped his arms around my waist as we watched the sun set.

"If there's one thing I miss about living in here, it would be watching the sun set. It's always so beautiful and in LA there's too many buildings to see it" I said softly.

"How are you doing, are you ok?"

"I'm really tired, actually…but I think I can make it. I'm not looking forward to the flight to LA tonight though" I sighed.

"At least you can sleep the whole way" he said into my ear as he rubbed my stomach gently.

We heard our names being called and we walked back through the building and out to the parking lot to talk to the director.

"Ok basically, have fun, dance around. Try some different things-goofy dancing, slow dancing, whatever. I am going to say to do what feels natural. If you feel like throwing a kiss in there, throw it in there….just don't make out" the director said and winked at us. "Now, we can do another take of this, but it will be a pain in the butt because we'll have to dry you two off, re-do hair and makeup, and change your clothes…so I would prefer to only have to do it once, ok?"

We nodded before walking off to the entrance of the school. When we heard him shout action, we started walking across the parking lot to the car. As we got close enough to the car for it to be in the shot, we heard him cue the rain.

Sheets of rain started pouring down and I started towards the car when I felt Edward grab my wrist and stop me. I turned around to be met with a very cheesy bow. I curtsied and he put one arm around my waist and mine went to his shoulder while our other hands were stretched out. We started dancing and he pulled our free hands to his chest and then moved his hand to my face and pulled me into a sweet kiss as we stopped dancing.

After a few seconds I pulled away, playfully shoved his head away and ran off dancing around and playing in the rain. To my surprise, he followed me and acted goofy right alongside me. He grabbed my hand and spun me around and we kept being goofy until we heard the director shout cut.

"Well, I was hoping it would only take one take, and it did. Do you guys want to watch it back?" he said into a megaphone as we were having towels wrapped around us.

We walked over and watched the playback on the monitor and started laughing when I shoved his face away.

"Well, I think I made the right decision about having you be in the video" I whispered to Edward as I smiled at him.

"Ladies and gentlemen…that's a wrap on 'Fearless'. Thanks everybody!" The director yelled into the megaphone.

We headed back to get dried off and changed so we could go back to LA. We had to drive back to Dallas to fly out and we stopped to get some food on the way. After we got done eating, my head fell on to Edward's shoulder and I started to nod off. I remember looking at the clock to see that it was 10:45. I woke up when the car stopped at the airport. We got out and Edward put his arm around my waist and helped me onto their jet and as soon as we were seated I crashed onto his shoulder as he wrapped his arms around me. The last thing I remember is Edward kissing my forehead and whispering goodnight.

**(Edward POV)**

It was going to be a long drive back to the airport, and as tired as I was I knew Bella was even more exhausted. We finished eating and I felt her head drop onto my shoulder. I put my arm around her so she could be more comfortable and played with her hair until I heard her breathing even out.

"Is she asleep?" my mom asked.

"Yeah, thank God. I was really worried last night mom. And before we shot the rain stuff tonight, she said that she was really tired. Aren't you supposed to get even more sleep when you're pregnant?" I asked her.

"Well, hopefully that will happen now that we are done with the tour and her video" she sighed.

Nothing else was said for the rest of the ride. I must have dozed off at some point, though because I was jolted awake when the car stopped. I heard Bella groaning and I knew that she was awake as well. We got out of the car and I put my arm around her waist to help her to the jet.

Once we were seated, her head dropped to my shoulder and I once again pulled her into my arms. I kissed her forehead and whispered goodnight.

Her breathing evened out and I sat and talked quietly to my mother for the rest of the flight. When we landed in California it was a little before midnight. I carried Bella off of the plane and to the car that was waiting for us. I buckled her in and walked around to get in on the other side. The drive to Bella's apartment was fairly short considering the fact that there wasn't a whole lot of traffic.

I stopped to talk to my mom before I got out.

"Can I stay here tonight?"

"Yeah, I think your brothers are here with Rosalie and Jake anyway."

"Thanks" I said as I sent a quick text to Emmet to come help with the bags. I got out of the car and I walked around to Bella's side. I had unbuckled her and was lifting her out of the car when I saw Emmet at the back of the car.

I followed him back to the apartment and carried Bella through the door and to her room-passing everybody without a word. I laid her on her bed and shut the door. I went to her dresser and pulled out a pair of sweats and a t-shirt and gently changed her into them. I tucked her in, kissed her forehead and went out to talk to the others.

"Is she ok?" Jake asked me.

"She's just really tired. She was up all night last night with morning sickness. She got some sleep after if finally stopped, but not near enough." I sighed.

"Well, that means you're exhausted too, since we know you got up with her every time…so go get some sleep" Jake motioned towards Bella's room.

I nodded and went back to her room. As soon as I crawled into bed she curled into my side with her head on my chest and I listened to her steady breathing for a bit before I finally fell asleep.

* * *

**There ya go! **

**Review and let me know what you're thinking!**


	24. Chapter 24

**It's the VMAs!**

**Another chapter might be posted tonight...keep your eyes peeled!**

**Review!**

* * *

Four days later, Rosalie and I were shopping for dresses for the VMA's. Rosalie and I were going as guests of the boys, so we would be sitting with them and everything. I was really excited to be able to go support the boys and possibly meet people that I've grown up watching.

"Miss Swan, I was told that you would be dropping by. We have picked out dresses that we really think the two of you might like" The owner of the shop said when Rosalie,Esme, and I walked through the door.

We were led to a few racks of some of the most beautiful dresses I've ever seen. After a few hours of looking, I decided on a v-neck black dress that had red accents on it that came down to my knees and showed off the perfect amount of cleavage to still be tasteful. It also showed off the little baby bump that was forming-the whole world knew, so why should I hide it?

We paid for our dresses and they were put into a clothes bag. We took them back to our apartment and hid them in our closet.

Jake had gone home yesterday, but assured us that he would be watching the show tomorrow night on TV.

The next day came and Rosalie and I headed over to the Cullen house to get ready. Esme had set up one of the spare rooms that had a bathroom in it for us to use.

We hung out with the boys for a while until we had to start getting ready and then forbid them to see us until we left.

Esme came in to help us get ready and we were finally ready to go. We had curled my hair and left it very natural looking with a red flower pinned in it. We used darker makeup around my eyes to make them pop, a light blush, and a natural color lip gloss. We were putting on our shoes when there was a knock on the door.

"It's Carlisle, can I come in?"

"Are you alone?" Esme teased.

"Yes, the boys are sitting downstairs" he laughed through the door.

"Ok, come in"

Carlisle walked through the door and shut it behind him and just stared at us.

"What, is there something on our faces?" Rosalie asked.

"No, I was just thinking about how my sons' jaws are going to be on the floor" he smiled and came over to us to give us each a hug and a kiss on the forehead. "Speaking of which, they are getting very impatient, and you guys need to leave" he said, kicking back into manager mode.

We followed him and Esme out of the room. We waited until they got downstairs to walk down. As soon as we were in sight, we saw Edward and Emmet gaping at us.

Esme handed us our purses when we got to the bottom of the stairs and the boys came over to us-well Jasper did, anyway. The other two were still sitting on the couch staring at us.

"Excuse the two idiots over there" Jasper laughed as he gave us hugs. At this, the other two finally shook themselves out of it and started walking over. "You two look beautiful" Jasper said as he kissed our foreheads.

He moved away and Edward walked over to me, took my hand, and spun me around before placing a small kiss on my lips.

"You look absolutely breathtaking, Bella" he said as he placed a hand on my stomach.

"Close your mouth Cullen, you're going to catch flies in it" I heard Rosalie tell Emmet. Everyone laughed as Emmet pulled her into a small kiss. Yes, that's right….a kiss. They had their first date about a week and a half ago and are now dating, not publicly, but they are dating.

"You look amazing, Rosalie" he said as he kissed her forehead.

"You guys ready?" Big Steve asked. I hadn't even noticed him standing in the room. I looked over to find him dressed up for the occasion as well.

"You look spiffy, Big Steve…are you Jasper's date for the evening?" I said as I poked him in the stomach.

"You look nice as well, and yes…I got stuck with the little one" he laughed.

"HEY! I resent that" Jasper protested. Everyone just laughed at him and we all headed out to the SUV that would be taking us to the show.

It had been decided that The boys would walk down the carpet together and Rosalie would go down with me. They said they'd wait for us at the end so we could walk in together.

We arrived and the boys got out and helped us out of the car. Edward kissed my forehead before they started walking down the carpet. I saw Ryan Seacrest and immediately went to go talk to him.

"Well, if it isn't Bella Swan-and who is this?" He said gesturing towards Rosalie.

"This is Rosalie Hale, my best friend." I said as I linked my arm in hers.

"Well, that's cool. So you just shot the video for your new single and rumor has it that Edward Cullen is the leading man in it…is that true?" He said slyly.

"Yes, that is very true" I laughed.

"So I see you've started to show, are you getting excited?" he asked motioning towards my belly.

"Well, to start with I wasn't excited at all-I was very upset because it was a constant reminder of the attack and everything, but now I'm starting to see the baby as a blessing. The fans have been really supportive and great about it" I smiled.

"They aren't the only ones either…I saw that video of those Cullen boys singing to your stomach" he said as he nudged me. Rosalie and I couldn't help but laugh.

"It was cute!" I responded.

I said my goodbyes to him and continued down the carpet occasionally stopping for photos with Rosalie and a few interviews.

We finally reached the end and saw the boys waiting for us just as they promised. Edward grabbed my hand and interlaced our fingers as we walked inside to our seats. The order was Emmet,Rosalie,Jasper, me, Edward, and then Big Steve.

We talked for a bit until the show started. I was excited to see the host this year, it was Russell Brand and he's supposed to be a really funny British comedian. However, I was extremely turned off when he finally came onto the stage.

He started talking about the boys and the promise rings and making fun of them for being virgins. And then if that wasn't bad enough he brought me into too.

"Edward Cullen is here with his pregnant girlfriend tonight, yet she has a promise ring too. How does that work. Don't you have to have sex to get pregnant? What is she, the Virgin Mary?"

A few people laughed, but for the most part everyone just shook their heads. I felt Edward squeeze my hand and Jasper put his hand on my knee.

He left the stage and the show went on. It wouldn't have been so bad if he didn't bring it up every time he was onstage. He came back on the next time with a ring and started joking about how he met one of the boys backstage.

"He shouldn't be wearing one anyway-he got his girlfriend pregnant. She says she was raped, but how many of us honestly believe that?" he said to the audience.

There were a few shouts of "I DO!" amidst the silence and I was starting to get tears in my eyes.

"I don't actually think the 'attack' ever even happened …what a great story to cover up a pregnancy. She had to have one, she works for Eclipse." He said before he walked offstage.

A few more awards were given out until the time came for the boys to go get ready to perform during a commercial break. They all three kissed my forehead as they left with Big Steve. Rosalie immediately moved next to me and pulled me into her arms. The time came for the boys to perform and we watched them and forgot about it for a while.

They came and sat back down during the next commercial, which was after Russell made even more jokes and slams about the four of us. They sat down to find me with tears threatening to fall and a hand on my stomach.

Kelly Clarkson defended the four of us and completely slammed Russell for saying what he did when she got up onstage, and later he came out to apologize for making fun of promise rings. He didn't apologize for anything else, just for making fun of the boys' promise rings.

The boys ended up not winning any awards, but they lost to Katy Perry and said "It was an honor to lose to her".

I met a few celebrities and they all said that they didn't agree with what was said that evening either.

The five of us headed back to the car with Big Steve and headed back to the Cullen house. I was still frazzled about the comments that were made earlier, and the boys were fuming.

"You know, making fun of our promise rings is one thing, but bringing up that baby and making light of what happened was completely uncalled for" Emmet gritted.

"Bella, please don't listen to him-you heard how the crowd reacted to him, no one else thinks that" Jasper said quietly.

I just stayed silent.

When we arrived at the Cullen house, I got out of the car and walked in without waiting for anyone else. I passed Carlisle and Esme without a word and headed up the stairs to Edward's room and shut the door. I lie down on his bed, put a hand on my stomach and finally allowed the tears to fall.

**(Edward POV)**

Bella hadn't said a word the entire last half of the show and ride home except for when she was meeting people-and even then it was forced.

I watched her jump out of the car and go in the house and was at a loss of what to do. The rest of us walked into the house silently and were met with mom and dad.

"Where'd she go?" Jasper asked.

"Upstairs" dad answered.

"I am so mad that he did that, dad. He can make fun of me all he wants, I don't care; but why did he have to make fun of her rape? Who does that?" I asked as I sat down on the couch.

"I don't know, son. But I do know that you boys will probably be asked about it a lot in upcoming interviews, and you need to figure out what to say, and how to say it nicely." Dad answered.

"Ok, dad" we all said as we nodded our heads.

"It's late, why don't you guys go to bed" mom suggested.

We all nodded and wordlessly walked up the stairs. I got to my room to find the door closed and said goodnight to the others.

I silently opened the door to find Bella in sweats and a T-shirt lying on her back on my bed with her hand on her stomach and makeup running down her face. I walked over and changed into sweats before I went and picked her up.

I carried her to the bathroom and set her down on the counter. I grabbed a washcloth and ran it under warm water before wiping her makeup off of her face. Her tears were mixing with the warm water as her makeup was chipped away and once her makeup was completely off, I saw how red and puffy her eyes were.

I carried her back to bed, pulled the covers back and placed her under them. I walked around and got into the other side to find she had rolled over to where she was facing away from me. I pulled her into my arms so her back was against my chest, kissed her neck, told her I loved her, and placed my hand on her baby bump as her breathing began to even out.

* * *

**Stupid Russell Brand :(**

**Review, please? :)**


	25. Chapter 25

**Gender of the baby is revealed!**

**review!**

* * *

A week later, it was time for my appointment. Esme had found me a really good OB-GYN in LA that would be finishing up my pregnancy with me.

The boys had made a statement about the remarks at the VMAs and handled it very professionally. They stuck up for me and said that they think Brand needs a hug.

Esme had decided that she would stay with everyone else at the Cullens house and let the two of us go on our own since I was finding out the gender today.

Edward and I drove up to the clinic and parked the car. He came around to my door and helped me out of the Volvo and laced his fingers with mine as we walked to the door. There were no cameras, I guess the paparazzi had gotten tired of taking pictures of us at the clinic because they figured out there wasn't a scandal.

He opened the door for me and I walked to the desk to tell them I was there. We sat down in the waiting room and soon my name was called.

The nurse weighed me, led me back to the exam room and took my blood pressure. After she left I was feeling thoroughly depressed about my weight.

"I'm a cow" I pouted.

"You're not a cow, you're beautiful" Edward laughed.

"But I'm fat! You heard what the nurse said I weighed! Besides, my clothes are starting to not fit"

"Well, then I guess we'll just have to go get you other clothes, huh" he said as he kissed my forehead.

Just then the doctor walked in.

"Hello Bella, I'm Dr. Heighl and it looks like I'll be taking care of you throughout the rest of the pregnancy. Esme gave me the names of the other doctors you've seen while you were on tour and I've called and received your charts from them. It looks like your weight gain is right on track. Do you have any questions or concerns?"

"She was up all night throwing up about a week ago" Edward said.

"Well, that it normal for some women in the end of the first trimester-especially in first-time mothers" she said. "Now, let's see this baby" she smiled.

I laid back and pulled my shirt over my stomach.

"Now this may be a little cold" she said as she squeezed the gel onto my stomach and started moving the transducer around.

A rapid heartbeat filled the room and Edward pulled out his phone.

"What are you doing?" I asked him.

"I'm recording the heartbeat so everyone can hear it" he said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

The doctor laughed. After he was done recording she moved the transducer around a bit more before she stopped.

"See this right here? That's your baby"

My eyes got really wide. It looked like a baby now-we could see the head and she pointed out the feet. She moved it around some more before stopping again.

"Did you want to know what gender it is?"

I looked at Edward and then nodded my head.

"It's a girl" She smiled at us.

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"Quite sure…the photo I have right now is pretty much like she is sitting on a copier"

I started crying and Edward started freaking out.

"Why are you crying?" he asked.

"I'm just so happy….I'm having a little girl" I smiled.

"I'll let you two have some time while I go get the printouts of the pictures for you" the doctor said as she wiped the gel off of my stomach and left the room.

"She's going to be beautiful, just like her mother" he whispered as he gave me a kiss. When he pulled away I saw that there were tears in his eyes too.

"Baby, why are you crying?" I asked him as I kissed away the tear that fell from his eye.

"Because I love you and it's good to see you happy" he responded.

"Ok, here are your pictures" the doctor said when she walked back in. "I want to see you back here in a month, ok?"

I nodded my head as Edward and I walked out. I stopped at the desk to make an appointment for next month and Edward and I walked out hand in hand.

Edward called his mom as he got into the car and told her that we weren't going to be back to the house until dinner. We didn't want to risk letting the news slip until everyone was together.

We stopped and went into one of our favorite restaurants to eat a late lunch. A few fans stopped and asked us for autographs and we happily obliged. Edward paid the check and when we finally left, it was about 3 PM. We walked back to the car down the street and he started driving once we got in.

"So what are we going to do until we go back to your house? We have 3 hours to kill."

"I have an idea" he smiled.

He started driving out of LA and I started seeing the ocean.

"Edward, where are we going?"

"The beach"

I just smiled and a few minutes later he parked the car and came around to open my door and grabbed a blanket out of the back of the car. We took our shoes off and rolled the legs of our pants up and walked along the water holding hands. The waves lapped around our feet and we stopped every once in a while to kiss.

He pulled a camera out of his pocket and started taking pictures. We took goofy pictures, serious pictures, pictures of us kissing, everything.

We started writing things in the sand and taking pictures of them.

We moved up away from the water a bit and he stretched the blanket out. We both lay down on the blanket and curled up together. He kept taking pictures of us and then he took a few of my belly.

I couldn't help but start laughing as I walked back toward the water. I was just standing and looking out at the water and the sun that was getting lower in the sky when I felt his hands go around my waist and land on my stomach.

"It's 5 PM…we should probably go" he said as he started kissing my neck and shoulder.

I turned around to face him and he pulled me into a kiss. A gentle breeze started blowing and he stuck his arm out and took one last picture of us before we started walking back to the car.

We got back to his house right in time for dinner and we were both all smiles. We went to wash up for dinner and joined the rest of the family at the table.

Dinner was delicious and after everyone was done eating, I cleared my throat and went to my purse to get the pictures. I brought them back to the table and Edward pulled out his phone as I started talking.

"First off, Edward recorded something for you all because of the excitement you expressed after hearing that we heard the heartbeat"

The sound of a quick heartbeat filled the room from Edward's phone and the people around the table broke into smiles.

"Is that-" Emmet asked

"It is, it's my baby's heartbeat. It's my little girl's heartbeat" I finished softly.

"It's a girl?"

I nodded and was engulfed in a four way hug by Emmet,Jasper,Rosalie and Riley

"Guys, let her breathe" Esme laughed. She and Carlisle walked over to give me a hug as well and I passed the pictures around to them.

"Are they sure it's a girl? Sometimes they can be wrong" Esme asked me.

"She said the picture was taken as if the baby was sitting on a copier so she's pretty sure" I laughed. The boys stared at the pictures on awe even after Esme said that this called for a celebration. We all went and piled into the SUV and headed out to go get ice cream.

"Have you thought of any names yet?" Riley asked excitedly.

"No, it's still a little early for that, I only found out today" I laughed. "But now that I know it's a girl I can definitely start thinking"

"And we don't have to call the baby 'it' anymore" Emmet said…I swear he matched Riley's level of excitement.

"No, we definitely don't have to call her 'it' anymore" I smiled as I put my hand on my stomach.

Edward smiled, placed his hand on top of mine and kissed my forehead.

"I love you, I love you both" he whispered in my ear as we started driving.

He didn't know it, but tears sprung to my eyes at the sincerity of his words.

* * *

**It's a girl!**

**review, please?**


	26. Chapter 26

A week later, I got a phone call from Charlie telling me that he had the first copy of my music video. Edward drove me over to get it and we were walking into his house so we could all watch it together.

The whole entire Cullen family and Rosalie was currently sitting in the living room and Emmet was putting the video into the DVD player. To say I was nervous would be an understatement-I was freaking out. Would it look good? Would it be stupid? How was Edward going to be received?

It had started and the intro music was playing. The video started off switching between shots of me by myself and me and Edward hanging out in the car and laughing. As the words started it showed me singing for a bit and switched to us walking out of the restaurant to the car. It switched back to me singing and then to the interior of the car for the first date.

"Awwww…look at you acting all shy and biting your lip" Emmet teased.

"Shut it Em" I laughed.

In the chorus it went back to me singing with clips of us hanging out…and stuff that I didn't remember shooting.

"Do you remember shooting that?" he asked me.

"I guess they filmed us actually just hanging out" I shrugged. I kind of liked it because it was really us and how we are. We all laughed when the cheesy bow as he opened the car door for me was in there.

Then came the first kiss flashback.

"Awwwww" Jasper said as Emmet covered Riley's eyes.

It flashed back to me sing the word 'fearless' right at the end of the bridge and then the two of us walking out after prom. He grabbed my hand as we walked and the rain kicked in and we started dancing.

The kiss in the rain came in and all of a sudden scenes from the rest of the video were flying by as if we were actually flashing back during the kiss. It came back to us kissing in the rain and then I pushed his head away and ran off as he started chasing me. He caught up to me and picked me up and spun me around. I didn't remember filming that either, I guess I was too tired to really remember it too well.

"That was really good Bella, I liked it" Rosalie said as she gave me a hug. "I'm so proud of you"

"You know the funny part?" I asked.

"What" Jasper responded.

"I don't remember filming parts of that rain scene" I laughed. "I guess I was so tired parts of it just slipped my mind. But I'm happy it turned out so well. I was worried"

They all gave me hugs and I called Charlie to tell him that I really liked it and I appreciated him letting me see it. I was told that it should be out in a week or two.

I couldn't wait for my first music video to come out, but I was still worried about how the fact that Edward was in it with me would be received. I guess it was a little too late to do anything about it. The fans had been pretty supportive of our relationship, so maybe it will be ok.

_**A month later**__  
_I was now 4 months and 2 week into my pregnancy. I still hadn't felt the baby kick, but last week the doctor had told me that it should be happening soon. The boys were doing a free concert tonight in and had asked me to perform at it again and I was actually really excited. We weren't just doing our songs-we were going to cover some of our favorites and I was doing a few duets with the boys.

I was backstage and the guys had just started the concert and the audience didn't know I was there. After a few songs, I heard them start talking.

"To mix things up tonight, we decided to throw in a few covers of songs that we really like. There are going to be a few surprises in this one, so keep your eyes and ears peeled" Emmet said as he locked eyes with me and winked as music started to play. When the time came, Emmet started to sing.

(Emmet_, _**Bella**, _Edward_)_  
_Give me a second I,  
I need to get my story straight  
My friends are in the bathroom getting higher than the Empire State  
My lover she's waiting for me just across the bar  
My seat's been taken by some sunglasses asking 'bout a scar, and  
I know I gave it to you months ago  
I know you're trying to forget  
But between the drinks and subtle things  
The holes in my apologies, you know  
_I'm trying hard to take it back  
So if by the time the bar closes_  
_And you feel like falling down  
I'll carry you home_

Tonight  
We are young  
So let's set the world on fire  
We can burn brighter than the sun

**Now I know that I'm not  
All that you got  
I guess that I, I just thought  
Maybe we could find new ways to fall apart  
But our friends are back  
**_So let's raise a toast  
'Cause I found someone to carry me home_

Tonight  
We are young  
So let's set the world on fire  
We can burn brighter than the sun

**Carry me home tonight** (Nananananana)  
**Just carry me home tonight** (Nananananana)  
**Carry me home tonight** (Nananananana)  
**Just carry me home tonight **(Nananananana)

The moon is on my side (Nananananana)  
I have no reason to run (Nananananana)  
So will someone come and carry me home tonight (Nananananana)  
The angels never arrived (Nananananana)  
But I can hear the choir (Nananananana)  
So will someone come and carry me home (Nananananana)

Tonight  
We are young  
So let's set the world on fire  
We can burn brighter than the sun

**So if by the time the bar closes  
And you feel like falling down**  
_I'll carry you home tonight_When the song was over, I was still doubled over but the pain was gone. Then I realized what it was…it was the baby kicking. The boys had rushed over to see if I was ok and I just started smiling.

"Are you ok?" Edward asked.

I didn't answer, I just nodded and grabbed his hand and placed it on my stomach.

"What" Edward asked.

"Sing something" I told him while still holding his hand on my stomach.

He started singing and the baby started kicking. A wide smile spread onto his face.

"What" Emmet asked when Edward finished.

"She kicks when I sing" he said quietly.

He started singing again and this time all three boys put a hand on my stomach and they all three smiled. The audience was ecstatic and started cheering.

I sang a few other songs-"Fearless", "Born This Way" and "Change"-to which Emmet decided he was going to rock out on the tambourine on. I couldn't help but smile because he really was rocking out.

After I had finished, I left the stage and the boys began to sing some more of their songs. Edward sang "Waitin' On A Woman" by Brad Paisley which really made me smile because Edward shot glances at me and smiled the whole time.

The whole time the boys were singing Carlisle,Esme, and Rosalie were trying to feel the baby kick but it wasn't working until Edward started singing "Waitin' On A Woman".

"I wonder why she only kicks when Edward sings" Rosalie said.

"Edward's been singing to her since we found out it was a girl" I said shyly.

"That is adorable" Esme said as she got a little teary eyed.

After the concert we all headed to get food and went back to the Cullen house and watched movies for the rest of the night.

When we went to bed, Edward put his head on my stomach and started singing. I felt the baby start kicking and felt a tear fall onto my belly.

"I love you so much" Edward said as he pulled me into a kiss.

He pulled away, and pulled my head onto his chest and we fell asleep with smiles plastered on our faces.

* * *

**I don't own any of the songs used in this chapter **

**Review, please?**


	27. Chapter 27

A week later, as it neared the end of October, the day of my album release came. It was coming out as midnight tonight and the boys were taking Rosalie and me to buy it at midnight. Right now we were on our way to the record store to get it. It must have leaked that the boys were going to be there because there were people lined up around the building and crowed around the doors and on the streets.

"Guys, I think your fans found out ya'll were coming" I said to them.

"Think again, Bella. Those aren't OUR names that are on their signs" Edward smiled.

Sure enough as we got closer, I saw several signs with my name on them. Big Steve got out and walked around to let us all out and the sounds I heard when we stepped out almost brought me to tears. They were screaming for me and asking me for autographs and pictures. The boys got asked for a few as well, but everywhere I looked I saw fans thrusting pictures of me towards me and my name could be heard coming from everywhere.

We finally got into the store and bought a copy for each of us and as we were walking out I had several people want to take a picture of me with my CD. I posed with the boys and Rosalie and we all held the CDs up. We eventually made it to the car and, as I was the last to get in, I stepped up onto the car and waved.

Big Steve finally shut the door and I started crying.

"I can't believe all those people came out for me. I'm used to a lot of people, but never just for me" I said softly.

"You deserve it, you worked hard and the fans recognize that" Jasper said.

Edward pulled me into his arms as I yawned and I rested my head on his shoulder. I fell asleep in the car with a grin plastered on my face.

The next day I was going to be appearing on the Ellen Show. I was so nervous, she is one of my favorite talk show hosts and I had gotten her a bow and arrow that shot marshmallows. I figured it was something that she would like…it made me smile. The boys and Rosalie had stayed back at the house so I was alone at the studio with Esme.

I was waiting for my time to go on and I heard her introduce me and my single started playing. It was such a surreal feeling to be walking out onto the Ellen Show with my music playing.

I gave her a hug and before she let me sit down she started talking.

"We have a tradition on the show…" she said as the music switched to 'Please Don't Stop The Music'.

I laughed and started dancing with her for a bit until the music stopped. We both sat down and I was laughing.

"It is very nice to meet you, Bella"

"I'm so excited to be here, you have no idea. I've always enjoyed watching your show and to be here is incredibly surreal" I said with a smile on my face. "I actually brought you something as well. I saw it and it seemed like something you would like" I said as I handed her the gift bag.

"That's so nice. You didn't have to do that" She smiled as she opened up the bag. She started laughing when she saw what I had gotten her and started shooting marshmallows at the audience.

"That is amazing, thank you!" She said. "I actually got you something too. We all know you're pregnant, but a little birdie told me that you're having a little girl, is that right?" she asked.

"It is indeed" I said as I nodded my head.

"Well, I thought that I would get her some clothes, you know-so I got her this T-Shirt and this onesie" she said as she pulled out a T-Shirt and onesie with her face on them.

I couldn't help but laugh as I took them from her.

"Thank you, I'll make sure she wears them a lot" I chuckled.

"So when are you due?"

"The doctor said I should be due around March 10th or so"

"You'll have to come back and introduce me after she's born" she smiled.

"I definitely will do that" I promised her.

"So, your first single did amazingly well on the charts and your album came out today. Did you already buy a copy?"

"Well, you know what? I did. I went with the Cullens and my best friend, Rosalie at midnight to get it and we all five bought one. Funny story though…we actually pulled up and I told the guys that their fans must have found out they were going to be there. But when we got closer, they had signs with my name on them. I was literally brought to tears as I stepped out of the cars and saw all the people that were there."

"But aren't you used to a lot of people at the shows?"

"Well, yes, but it's a different feeling knowing that they are there because of you. On tour it was mostly to see the Cullens" I smiled.

"Well, I'm sure your album will be a hit. I've listened to it and I really like it" she said as she held her copy up.

"Really? Wow, thanks…that is an honor for me to have you say you like my album"

"So you're first single did well, like I said, do you know when you are going to be dropping another one?"

"Well, actually I've been asked to sing at the AMAs, which still hasn't sunk in by the way, and the song that I will be singing there will be my next single"

"Ooo great…which song is it?"

"I can't tell you that!" I laughed "But I will say that it is a song that I haven't ever performed live…so it should be pretty nifty"

"Well, I look forward to seeing that, then. Now, do YOU have a favorite track off of your album?"

"You know, there are three songs on there that really meant a lot to me when I wrote them…but I think 'Lessons Learned' would probably have to be my favorite. It was straight from my heart when I wrote it, but it's even more meaningful to me now after the events on the tour. So, yeah…that's probably my favorite."

"Now, I understand that there's a song that you wrote to your father on here? Which one is it?"

"Umm, it's called 'Blown Away" I said softly as I looked down at my baby bump and placed a hand on it. When I didn't look back up for a minute she shot me in the face with a marshmallow. I started cracking up.

"After the break, Bella Swan will be singing for us. You aren't going to want to miss it" She said as the commercial started.

The commercial break was crazy…they started playing music and Ellen took me through the crowd dancing. I ended up getting to where I was performing right before we went back on the air.

"Ladies and gentlemen….Bella Swan!"

I started playing the intro to "Fearless" on my guitar and stepped up to the microphone and started singing.

I was really surprised to see some of the adults in the audience singing along with me as well as the few teenagers in the audience too. It kind of made me smile.

Afterwards, I was taken back to the Cullens house and they all laughed when I showed them the gifts Ellen gave me for the baby.

_November_

Today is Edward's 21st birthday and his family and a few friends were having a party at his house and then we were all going to go to the beach for the sunset. Jake and Lily had even been invited and had made the flight to come out and help him celebrate.

One of his friends gave him the keys to a Lamborghini that morning to drive around for the day. He took all of his brothers and then Rosalie out for a spin. He came back and got me and we were driving around LA trying to dodge paparazzi.

We drove around for a bit before heading back so we could eat lunch and so he could open his presents.

His family got him some awesome stuff, and I was kind of thinking that my present was going to suck.

"Wow, I'm not sure about my present now…I've always been horrible at giving gifts" I told him as I handed him the little bag.

He opened it and pulled out a thick, leather-bound journal and a frame that held one of the pictures we took at the beach. He looked at them for a moment before looking up at me.

"I figured you could use the journal to write your songs in and I thought that the picture would be nice. It's ok if you don't like it, though-there's a second part" I said as I looked down at my feet.

"I love it, Bella. It was very thoughtful" He said as he lifted my chin and gave me a little kiss.

"Do you want the second part?" I smiled slightly.

"Yeah, what is it?"

"Well, I kind of wrote you something. Everyone can hear it if they want, but it requires going to the music room" I told the whole room.

Everyone got up and followed us to the music room. I sat Edward where I could look him in the eyes while I sang it, and then went to sit at the piano. The room went silent and I took a few deep breaths before starting to play. This was a big deal, I'd never written a song like this for someone that was actually going to hear it-that knew it was about them, anyway.

I finally closed my eyes and started playing the beginning notes on the piano. When it came time to sing I opened my eyes and looked up to find Edward staring back at me.

_I've been down  
Now I'm blessed  
Felt a revelation comin' around  
Guess it's right  
It's so amazing  
Every time I see you I'm alive  
You're all I've got  
You lift me up  
The sun and the moonlight  
All my dreams are in your eyes_

I wanna be inside your heaven  
Take me to the place you cry from  
When a storm blows your way  
I wanna be the earth that holds you  
Every bit of air you're breathin' in  
A soothin' wind  
I wanna be inside your heaven

When we touch  
When we love  
The stars line up the wrong becomes undone  
Naturally  
My soul surrenders  
The sun and the moonlight  
All my dreams are in your eyes

And I wanna be inside your heaven  
Take me to the place you cry from  
When a storm blows your way  
I wanna be the earth that holds you  
Every bit of air you're breathin' in  
A soothin' wind  
I wanna be inside your heaven

When minutes turn to days and years  
If mountains fall, I'll still be here  
Holding you until the day I die

I wanna be inside your heaven  
Take me to the place you cry from  
When a storm blows your way

I wanna be inside  
When a storm blows your way  
I wanna be inside your heaven  
Take me to the place you cry from  
When a storm blows your way  
I wanna be the earth that holds you  
Every bit of air you're breathin' in  
A soothin' wind  
I wanna be inside your heaven.

I had closed my eyes at some point during the song and just poured my heart into it. I sat looking at the piano, waiting for a reaction. The room as completely silent and I was afraid to look up. I finally bit the bullet and looked away from the piano, and what I saw shocked me.

I saw Carlisle in the corner with a video camera pointed where he could get me, the piano, and Edward in the shot at the same time. I knew he could see both of our faces on the screen as well. I saw him shut the camera and put it down as he shot me a smile.

Jake was grinning with a proud look in his eye and Lily was smiling at me.

Esme was in tears.

Rosalie was smiling and had her head on Emmet's shoulder and was holding his hand.

Emmet and Jasper were looking at Edward and smiling softly.

I finally looked at Edward and there were tears in his eyes that matched the tears I was sure were in mine.

Once I finally met his gaze, he stood up and started walking towards me as he wiped his eyes.

"That has got to be the best present anyone has ever given me" He said as he pulled me off of the bench.

"How is this better than a Lamborghini?" I asked him.

"It doesn't take much thought to hand me a set of keys or to go shopping. It took a lot of time and love to write me a song…especially the song you just wrote. That came straight from your heart, and the fact that you wrote it especially for me makes it that much better. Besides, that is probably the most beautiful thing I've ever heard you sing"

"I meant every word" I whispered.

He pulled me in for a sweet kiss, and the whole room let out a "Awwwww" that I could tell they had been holding throughout the entire exchange.

I smiled into the kiss and whispered "Happy Birthday" against his lips.

That night, everyone went to the beach to watch the sunset, and Edward grabbed his camera and a blanket and took me in the Lamborghini in case we wanted to stay longer than everyone else.

Edward and I were standing at the shoreline in the same position we were in on the day we found out I was having a girl, watching the sunset.

"You're it for me, Edward" I whispered.

He turned me to face him and pulled me in to a kiss, holding both of my hand between us.

We didn't know it but Esme took a picture of it on his camera-and the sun was low enough where the only thing you saw was our silhouettes.

Everyone left and let us an extra blanket in case we wanted to cover up with one.

Edward and I just lay on the beach looking at the stars with my head on his chest in silence. When I shivered he pulled me closer into his arms and pulled the blanket over us.

After about an hour we packed everything up and headed back to his house.

Before we went up to bed, Jake and Lily wanted to feel the baby so Edward started singing to see if he could get her to kick.

Sure enough, she started playing soccer and I started laughing when all of a sudden I gagged.

"Are you ok?" Jake and Edward immediately asked.

"Yeah, she kicked my stomach" I said laughing.

Everyone had decided that it would be best if I stayed at the Cullens house for the rest of my pregnancy in case I needed anything, so Rosalie usually ended up staying there as well.

I told everyone goodnight and kissed my brother and niece goodbye before I headed upstairs to get some sleep.

I was out cold before Edward even came in.

* * *

**ok, collective "awwwwwwwwwww" lol.**

**My goal was to make at least one person actually "awwww" out loud...you should totally tell me if you did!**

**I don't own "Inside Your Heaven" by Carrie Underwood...I thought that it was quite appropriate for the story :)**

**Review, please?**


	28. Chapter 28

It was the day of the American Music Awards and I wasn't doing very well at all-actually, I was a nervous wreck. I mean, it would have been a completely different story if I had been performing at the VMAs or something, where it was just MTV, but this was a huge awards show on a network station. To add more pressure, I was singing a song I had never sung live and it has so much more meaning to me now than it did when I wrote and recorded it. Not to mention I looked like a whale.

I had done my hair and makeup and I was currently in the bathroom putting my dress on. Once I got it on I refused to come out.

"Bella, just come out" Rosalie said through the door.

"I'm sure you look beautiful, honey" Esme tried.

"Yeah, if a whale is beautiful" I replied.

I sat down on the edge of the tub and I heard whispering coming from outside the door. There was silence for a while before someone knocked on the door.

"Bella, please come out" Edward said.

"No"

"Can you at least let me in, then?" he asked as he tried the handle to find it locked.

"No-you'll laugh at me because I'm fat. Everyone tonight is going to see that I'm fat now and all the gossip sites are going to be talking about it" I said trying to hold back tears.

"Honey, you aren't fat. No one thinks you are fat or will ever think you are fat. You're pregnant and beautiful and I would never ever laugh at you for that" he said quietly through the door.

I sighed and got up to unlock the door. He walked in and as soon as he saw me he started chuckling.

"See! You're laughing at me" I said as the tears threatened to come back.

"No, I'm not. I'm laughing because you actually think you look fat. You look beautiful and breathtaking and every other word that has the same meaning. You are nowhere near fat" he said as pulled me into a hug and rubbed his hand up and down my back.

"Are you ready to go? The others are waiting and we really do have to leave" he asked me after a bit of silence.

I nodded my head and followed him after giving him a short kiss. We walked down the stairs and followed the others out to the car. Everyone was getting to go this time-Rosalie as my guest, Riley as Jasper's, Carlisle as Emmet's and Esme as Edward's. We still all got to sit together, though.

When we arrived, Rosalie and I started down the red carpet after the boys. We didn't walk with them, but we were so close behind them some of the interviewers ended up interviewing us together anyway.

We finally made it inside and went to sit down and after a bit Jimmy Fallon came out to start the show. A few awards later they were heading to a commercial break-and that meant it was time for me to go get ready to perform. I couldn't move out of my chair because I was so petrified.

"You're going to do fine, I promise" Edward said before giving me a kiss.

I got up to leave and Esme came with me so I wouldn't have to be alone for my first performance. We got backstage and I could see my band putting the finishing touches on their setup and I was set up with an in-ear and walked out to the stage as the person who was introducing me was talking. The lights were dimmed and I was so afraid I was going to fall-but luckily, I didn't. I heard my name being said and my band started playing the song as the lights came up.

I caught a glimpse of everyone sitting and saw Carrie Underwood in the front row. That freaked me out because I love her music so much and I immediately closed my eyes and took a deep breath and closed my eyes as I started to sing.

_There's some things that I regret_  
_Some words I wish had gone unsaid_  
_Some starts that had some better endings_  
_Been some bad times I've been through,_  
_Damage I cannot undo._  
_Some things, I wish I could do all all over again_

_But it don't really matter_  
_When life gets that much harder_  
_It makes you that much stronger_  
_Oh, some pages turned_  
_Some bridges burned_  
_But there were lessons learned_

_And every tear that had to fall from my eyes_  
_And every day I wondered how I'd get through the night_  
_Every change, life has thrown me_  
_I'm thankful, for every break in my heart_  
_I'm grateful, for every scar_  
_Some pages turned_  
_Some bridges burned_  
_But there were lessons learned_

_There's mistakes that I have made_  
_Some chances I just threw away_  
_Some roads, I never should have taken_  
_Been some signs I didn't see_  
_Hearts that I hurt needlessly_  
_Some wounds, that I wish I could have one more chance to mend_

_But it don't make no difference_  
_The past can't be rewritten_  
_You get the life you're given_  
_Oh, some pages turned_  
_Some bridges burned_  
_But there were lessons learned_

_And every tear that had to fall from my eyes_  
_And every day I wondered how I'd get through the night_  
_Every change, life has thrown me,_  
_I'm thankful, for every break in my heart_  
_I'm grateful, for every scar_  
_Some pages turned_  
_Some bridges burned_  
_But there were lessons learned_

_And all the things that break you_  
_Are the things that make you strong_  
_You can't change the past cause it's gone_  
_And you just gotta move on_  
_Because it's all lessons learned_

_And every tear that had to fall from my eyes_  
_From everyday I wondered how I'd get through the night_  
_From every change, life has thrown me_  
_I'm thankful, for every break in my heart_  
_I'm grateful, for every scar_  
_Some pages turned_  
_Some bridges burned_  
_But there were lessons learned_  
_Oh, some pages turned_  
_Some bridges burned_  
_But there were lessons learned_  
_Lessons learned_  
_Lessons learned_

I had gotten lost in the song and hadn't even noticed any of the audience reactions. I just concentrated on pouring everything I had into the moment until I was done singing. I found where the boys were sitting and they all had smiles on their faces. The audience starting clapping and when I looked at Carrie Underwood she gave me a thumbs up and smiled.

I met Esme backstage to wait for the commercial break so we could go sit back down. I felt horrible that I wasn't going to be there with the boys when their award came up. Best New Artist finally came up and the nominees were announced. Esme grabbed my hand and I put my other one on my stomach.

"And the winner is….the Cullens!" Esme and I watched the screen as the boys jumped up. Edward was clapping and they all three were excited.

We watched them make their speech and met them as they walked off the stage. I jumped into Edward's arms and gave him a kiss-not caring who saw.

"I'm so proud of you" I whispered.

"I'm so proud of YOU" he said back. I just giggled.

"I'm really proud of you guys, you really did deserve it" I said still from Edward's arms.

"Hey, Edward stop hogging her…we want to say how good she was too" Emmet whined.

I just laughed and walked out of Edward's arms into the arms of his younger brother.

"Em, there's plenty of me to go around" I giggled.

"Hey now, don't go advertising that….I don't want you to be stolen" Edward teased.

"Yeah yeah" I rolled my eyes as I hugged Jasper.

"You really were incredible tonight, Bella" he whispered in my ear before we broke the hug.

"Thank you"

The commercial break came and we all walked back to our seats to be met with a very excited Riley and a huge hug from Rosalie.

The show finished with some more awesome performances. I was exhausted be the end of the show, though. I don't know how I was going to make it through the free concert.

To make it worse, the doctor had told me at my appointment last week that I was too tired and wasn't getting enough rest. Edward of course had freaked out and had been watching me like a hawk. So I knew that yawning was a bad idea, but I couldn't help it.

"No concert for you…you're going to be sleeping" He said as we got in the car.

"No, I have to sing"

"Fine, but we're moving your songs to the beginning-no arguments" he said.

"Fine"

That's just what they did. I sang "Lessons Learned" and then, much to Edward's surprise, did a cover of "God Bless The Broken Road". I had told Edward that the song I was covering was picked out especially for him, told the boys what I was doing, but Jasper was going to be playing the guitar with me. Edward just had to watch.

The audience loved it and Edward just smiled. And as much as I hate to admit it, Edward was right. I got done singing and was conked out on the couch backstage before the next two songs were over.

The next thing I knew I was stirring to the feeling of someone picking me up. I opened my eyes to see Edward.

"Edward put me down, you're going to give people a free show of another kind if you don't"

He immediately put me down and I giggled at his facial expression.

"You're right, that show is for my eyes only" he said as he wiggled his eyebrows and pulled me in for a kiss.

"Edward!" I said as I turned away from the kiss. "That show is for my future husband's eyes only" I laughed.

"Like I said, it's for my eyes only"

I just stood there in shock.

"What? Why are you acting so shocked? I've already told you that you're it for me" he said with a little laugh. I didn't answer…I just crashed my lips onto his.

After a few minutes we separated and went to the cars to take us back to his house.

When I got up to Edward's room I immediately fell into his bed-still in my dress and even my shoes.

"You aren't going to sleep in that, are you?" he asked as he shut the door.

"I'm too tired to change, so yes" I said.

"Come on, don't make me change your clothes for you" he said with a smirk.

"Oh yes cause we know you'd just hate that sooo much" I said with a smirk.

"You know I'll do it"

He's right, I did know he'd do it…and I also knew he'd get a surprise when he did.

"Mmmmm, goodnight" I said as I crawled under the covers, shoes and all and rolled over away from him.

A minute later I heard the lock click. I felt the covers being lifted off of me and I was rolled over onto my back. I opened my eyes to see Edward by my feet unbuckling my shoes. After he slid them off he started gently rubbing them.

After a while he slid up beside me, sat me up, and unzipped my dress. I scooted up next to the headboard as he slid my dress over my head. His eyes widened at the sight of my bare breasts-just like I knew they would. He pulled me to straddle his lap (the only comfortable way we've found to kiss now that my stomach is so big) and pulled me into a kiss.

The kiss started off gently but soon grew more heated and passionate. I unbuttoned his shirt and slowly slid it off of his shoulders before breaking the kiss long enough to lift his undershirt over his head. I ran my hands over his bare chest as we re-connected our lips. Occasionally he would graze over my breasts, sending shivers throughout my body, but I loved the fact that he paid attention to me as a person instead of me as a sex object.

His hands found their way to my hips and they started to rub little circles just as his kisses moved down to the hollow of my neck and I couldn't help but let out a soft moan.

I felt him smile and silently laugh into my neck. I ground my hips against his and it was his turn to let out a moan and as his head fell back I started attacking his neck with my lips.

"Tell me about one of the dreams you had about me" he said.

I felt his hands go up to cup my breasts as he started to kiss a trail down to catch one of my nipples in his mouth.

"Edward" I breathed out. "We have to stop" I felt him nod against my chest and I rolled off of him.

"I'm going to go take a shower. You should probably get to sleep" he said before leaving to go to the bathroom that was attached to his room.

In all honesty, I was incredibly worked up as well and I decided that I needed to fix that. I figured I had enough time to I sat up and slid my hand down my body into my underwear. I was almost done when the bathroom door opened and Edward walked out in nothing but a towel. That sight was enough to send me over the edge and I let out a little moan.

Edward groaned and walked back into the bathroom. I heard the shower start back up again and I knocked on the door.

"Can I come in?"

"Yeah"

"Sorry, I need to wash my hands" I said as I shut the door. I heard him groan again and I couldn't help but let out a giggle.

"Do you have any idea what you do to me" I heard him ask from behind the curtain.

"The same things you do to me most likely" I said as I dried my hands and walked out of the bathroom.

I threw one of Edward's T-shirts and a pair of his sweats on and curled up in bed under the covers. I vaguely remember Edward crawling into bed and kissing my forehead before I fell asleep.

* * *

**Happy Easter,peops.. :)**

**I couldn't resist throwing Carrie Underwood in there :) After all, it IS her song.**

**I don't own "Lessons Learned" by Carrie Underwood**

**Review, please?**


	29. Chapter 29

It was now Thanksgiving Day and the whole Cullen family, Rosalie, her father, Jake,Lily and I were all at the Cullen house in Dallas. I must say, their house was amazing. I usually was ok when I was around my brother, but today was a little different. As I watched him interact with his daughter I started to get really scared and I went to go sit in the corner of the living room by myself. My brother came over and sat next to me.

"What's up"

"I'm scared"

"Of…"

"Being a mother"

He was silent for little bit before he put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me in to a hug.

"You, are going to be a wonderful mother" he whispered.

"What if I'm not strong enough to be a single parent?"

"You aren't going to be a single parent…at least not really. You have the Carlisle,Esme Rosalie, Aro,Jasper,Emmet and me; but most of all you have Edward. Edward could not love that little girl any more if it was his own daughter."

"I know. I guess the fact that it is getting closer to my due date is making it all a little more real."

"Have you talked to Edward about this?" he asked as we watched Edward pick Lily of and spin her around.

"No" I sighed.

"Talk to him" he said as Edward started to walk over to us with Lily. "Hey, Lily…let's go see if we can find Riley, ok?" he asked his daughter when they reached us.

Edward handed Lily over to her dad and proceeded to sit down beside me.

"Are you telling your brother secrets again? You know that those are no fun unless you tell me" he smiled as he kissed my forehead.

"No, he just asked me why I was over here and we were just talking"

"Yeah, I was going to come over here, but he beat me to it. What's up"

"Nothing"

"Uh huh….and will you be telling me the truth any time soon?" he said as he raised his eyebrows.

"That is the truth" I said, still avoiding his eyes.

"Bella, you are quite possibly the worst liar that was ever put into existence"

"It's not a big deal, really" I said burying my face into his chest.

"Yeah, then why does it have you sitting in the corner and lying?" I felt him smirk into my hair.

"I'm scared"

"Of what"

"Being a bad mother"

He lifted my chin up to look me in my eyes.

"You are going to be a fantastic mother. I see you with Lily and it makes my heart skip a beat to think that in a few months it will be this little one that you'll be playing with" he said as he placed a hand on my tummy. "Your daughter is going to be strong, independent, and beautiful just like her mother. She's going to be one lucky little girl because she has you for a mother"

I started crying. I couldn't help it…his words just sounded so sincere and genuine. He pulled me into his chest and wrapped both of his arms around me the best that he could.

"Bella, could you come help me in the kitchen for a minute?" I heard Esme ask. I got up off the couch and walked into the kitchen to help her. She handed me plates and I started to set the table in silence.

"He's right, you know." She said.

"How much did you hear" I sighed.

"All of it" she smiled. "Honey, I'm not going to lie to you-being a parent is one of the toughest things I've ever done. But it is also one of the most rewarding. There will be tough patches and times that you don't know what to do or say, but that is why you have the support of a family. You have ten people backing you up, Bella"

I walked over to her and gave her as big of a hug as I was able to. She called everyone in for dinner and when everyone was seated, Carlisle began to talk.

"Now, we have a tradition for Thanksgiving in this family-we all go around the table and say what we are thankful for. I'm thankful for my wonderful family and the friends that we all have made in this past year." Carlisle started.

"I'm thankful that my family is healthy and happy" Esme said.

"I'm thankful for my mommy, daddy, big brothers, and for Bella and Rosalie because they're like the big sisters I never had" Riley-leave it to him to make Rosalie and me smile. We both blew him kisses across the table making him blush. Everyone laughed at that.

"I'm thankful for my daddy, my Aunt Bella, and that my mommy is my guardian angel" We all teared up a bit at my three year old niece when she said that.

"I'm thankful for my daughter, my beautiful sister, my future niece, and for this wonderful family" Jake said.

"I'm thankful for my two girls and the fact that they are both in good health. I'm proud of Bella for finally making her dreams come true, and I'm happy that my daughter finally found a good guy to have in her life" Aro said as he winked at Emmet.

"I'm thankful for my friends, both old and new and my dad" Rosalie said.

"I'm thankful for the blessings that God has given me this year through family, friends, new love, and in music" Emmet followed.

"I'm thankful for my family, the ability to play music and be an inspiration to others, and my friends" Jasper said.

"I'm thankful for my daughter-even though she didn't come about in the best of situations, I already love her with all of my heart. I'm thankful that I was finally able to get away from my dad and that he and James are behind bars. I'm thankful that my album went to number three. I'm thankful for my big brother and niece, my sister and best friend, my second dad, and my second family. But most of all I'm thankful for Edward, who has been the light in so many situations this past year and has never looked at me any differently no matter what happened. I'm thankful for having so much love in my life" I said as I started to tear up.

"I'm thankful for my family, friends, and success. I'm thankful that Jake could see that I was in love with Bella before I did. If he hadn't mentioned it, I don't know how long it would have taken me to admit it. I'm thankful that your demo was the one my brothers and I listened to and I'm thankful for the little girl that will be in all of our lives soon. If she is half the girl her mother is, our lives will all be brighter for it." Edward said as he placed a hand on my knee.

I was no longer close to tears, a few were now rolling down my face.

"Stupid hormones" I mumbled as I lowered my head.

"I love you" Edward said with a chuckle as he wiped the tears off my face.

We all joined hands as Carlisle said grace. After he was finished, we all dug into the huge amounts of food in front of us.

Dinner was delicious and filled with funny conversations and a lot of laughing at Emmet.

After we were all done with dinner, we went to the living room to enjoy the rest of the evening. It was amazing to celebrate Thanksgiving again-this was the first year I had gotten to since my mom died.

We watched the Cowboys game and by the end of it I was asleep on Edward's shoulder.

* * *

**I hope you liked it...I know it was shorter than my chapters usually are, but the next are Christmas!**

**Review, please?**


	30. Chapter 30

**This is a long chapter... and it is ALL about Christmas Eve and Christmas. I wanted to post it all tonight so I didn't have to post tomorrow. **

**I really think that you guys are going to like this chapter**

* * *

It was Christmas Eve and Rosalie,Aro,Jake,Lily and I had been invited to spend the holidays with the Cullen in Dallas. I was excited because it was actually snowing-it was incredibly rare to have a white Christmas in Dallas.

We were currently on the jet flying to Dallas and Aro,Jake and Lily were meeting us there.

We had all decided to watch "A Christmas Story" on the flight and the boys found it funny that Rosalie and I could quote the movie so well. "

"They play it for 24 hours straight on TV…we watched it EVERY Christmas, at LEAST once" I defended when they started making fun of us.

After that was over, we put on Elf. We didn't get to finish it so we decided to watch it when we got to the house.

We got to the house, unloaded everything, and Carlisle went to go find a Christmas tree.

"Mom, a tree is great and everything but do we have anything to actually decorate it with here?" Emmet asked.

"Got it covered…we thought ahead" She laughed as she walked upstairs and came down with several boxes of decorations and lights.

Carlisle came back with the tree as Jake,Lily and Aro were arriving. They helped him put the tree up and we all started decorating it and singing Christmas Carols.

It was so freaking cute because Lily wanted to put ornaments towards the top so Edward kept lifting her up to so she could reach. We were almost done when I noticed Edward and Jake over in the corner whispering.

"SECRETS SECRETS ARE NO FUN UNLESS YOU TELL ME!" I said in their direction.

"We're talking about Christmas presents….shut up sis" Jake said. I stuck my tongue out at him and he just laughed and went back to whispering to Edward.

We finished with the tree and all of the lights were turned off and we all gathered around it. Carlisle flipped the switch Edward whispered in my ear.

"This is the first year I've gotten to celebrate Christmas since my mother died" Jake heard that and leaned over to kiss my forehead.

"Then I guess this Christmas needs to be one to remember, huh" Edward whispered again. I just nodded and leaned back into his embrace as he wrapped his arms around my waist.

After dinner, we all sat around the fire that had been built and swapped favorite Christmas memories. Some of the memories that came from the boys were kind of funny and full of chaos.

"Hey Jake, remember when we used to two-step back when mom was still alive?"

"Yeah, I do" he said with a small smile.

"Two-step?" Jasper asked.

Jake and I both gasped when he asked that.

"Jake, I think this might call for a demonstration. What do you think"

"I think you're right. Come to think of it, I've never shown Lily how to do it either" he smiled. I grinned and ran up the stairs and came back down a few minutes later with a CD.

"I can't believe you actually have that with you" Jake laughed.

"It's my favorite Christmas CD, why would I NOT?" I laughed.

"This should be fun with a six-month pregnant belly in our way this time" I giggled as I put it in the CD player and flipped through until I found the track I was looking for.

The music started as I walked to meet my brother in the big open space he was standing in. He cheesily bowed and I curtsied as the words to "Cowboy Christmas Ball" by Michael Martin Murphey started to play.

We started to two step and spin around. At one point he lifted me up a bit and I kicked. The Cullen started clapping and I was just laughing. The song finished and Edward and a few of them wanted to learn how to do it. Rosalie pulled Emmet up and started teaching him and I went to Edward. Esme and Carlisle already knew how so Esme taught Jasper and Jake and Carlisle taught Riley and Lily. It was the funniest thing I had ever seen. They all caught on reasonably quickly which was quite impressive. We all switched the partners around during the songs a bit and we finally sat down when we were tired.

"That was fun!" Lily exclaimed. We all laughed at her excitement.

"Thank you for sharing some of the traditions you had in your family for Christmas you guys" Carlisle said. Everyone had smiles on their faces and we all settled in around the fire to enjoy the rest of the night.

Carlisle sat down to read _The Night Before Christmas, _as it was a tradition in their house. Riley and Lily went over to him so they could see the pictures in the book.

All of a sudden Edward was tugging on my hand and making me stand up.

"Why do I have to get up? I can hear from over here" I asked him.

"See, the tradition isn't just that he reads it. We all enjoy it, yes-we were raised hearing it every Christmas, but he reads it especially for the little kids. You, my dear, are housing one of those little kids right now so we have to go over there" he smiled.

I just rolled my eyes and followed him to sit by his father. There was only one spot on the couch so Edward sat down and pulled me to sit in his lap.

As Carlisle started reading, I felt the baby start kicking. I smiled and moved Edward's hand to my tummy and curled into his chest.

"I think she liked the story…she kicked up a storm the whole time" I said as he finished reading. He reached over and placed a hand on my tummy and smiled.

"Ok, like the book said, 'To all a good night'. Riley, that means it's time for bed" Esme said.

"You too Lily" Jake chimed in.

"Aww man" the little ones said.

"The sooner you go to bed the sooner Santa will come" Jake said.

"OH YEAH!" They both took off running up the stairs.

We all chuckled and Edward picked me up and moved to a recliner by the fire. I curled back up in his lap and we just sat in silence looking into the fire.

"I love you" I whispered as I drew lazy patterns on his chest with my finger.

"I love you more" he whispered back.

"So what was the real reason you were whispering with Jake in the corner earlier" I said as I looked up at him. I saw him smile as he kept staring into the fire.

"You're really nosy aren't you" He said as he turned to look in my eyes.

"Yes I am. And like you say 'secrets secrets are no fun unless you tell me'"

"How did I know you'd use that against me?" he chuckled as he shook his head. "We were talking about presents, I swear" He said.

"For who?" I kept prodding.

"You'll see tomorrow…now leave it alone" he smiled at my pouting before kissing my forehead, then my nose, then finally my lips.

I gave up and cuddled back into his chest as he pulled a blanket over the two of us.

*PFH*PFH*PFH* PFH*PFH*PFH* PFH*PFH*PFH* PFH*PFH*PFH* PFH*PFH*PFH*

The next morning we were awakened by two little children shaking us. It took me a minute to realize that we had fallen asleep in the chair in front of the fire.

"I'm so sorry…your legs are probably asleep now" I said as I kissed him good morning.

"They're fine, I promise" he smiled at me as everyone else walked in to the living room to open presents. Edward and I resituated to where he was sitting on the floor in front of me. He threw the "no, you're pregnant" line at me when I said I'd sit on the floor.

I rolled my eyes, but knew I'd lose the fight so I let him sit on the floor.

Riley ran around passing out presents that the Cullen' had, presents from me and Rosalie, and presents that Jake and Aro had brought.

Wrapping paper started being thrown(mostly by Emmet, Riley, and Lily) and when I just had one present left, Lily walked over to me with a little box in her hand.

"Aunt Bella, I want to give you something" she smiled.

"Lily, you being here to spend Christmas with me is present enough" I tickled her stomach as I lifted her up to sit on my lap.

"But still, you're a really good aunt" she said as she handed the box to me.

I opened it to find a tiny ring inside that looked like it might fit on my pinky.

"I wanted to get you a ring but daddy said you already had two rings that you wear so I decided to give you a ring that I wore on my thumb that you can wear on your pinky and daddy got in engraved for me. Every time I see you you say how much you miss me so now when you miss me you can look at the ring and not miss me so much" she said.

The fact that she gave me a ring was sweet. The fact that it was HER ring was even sweeter. I read the inscription on the outside and tears came to my eyes.

_I love you Aunt Bella-Lily_

It was a simple inscription but it was the sweetest thing I've ever seen. I slipped the ring on my pinky and it fit perfectly.

"I want to be just like you when I grow up" she said, which of course made the tears fall from my eyes.

"I love you shortcake" I said as I gave her a hug and kissed the top of her head.

"I love you too Aunt Bella" she said before jumping off of my lap and running back to her dad.

I picked up the last box that was by me and saw that it was from Edward. I opened it to see a beautiful locket.

"There's already a picture of us in it, and there's a spot to put a picture of the baby when she gets here"

I threw my arms around his neck and kissed him.

"Thank you" I whispered against his lips. I opened the locket to find one of the pictures we had taken at the beach staring back at me.

"Can we go play in the snow?" Riley asked.

We all laughed and went to gear up to go play in the snow.

Several snow angels, many videos for youtube, a few failed attempts at a snowman, and three snowball fights later we were all soaking wet and headed inside.

We all headed upstairs to change and I decided to take a shower.

"Hey, my mom said she'll put everyone's clothes in the dryer" Edward said through the door.

"Yeah, they're in here…you can come in and get them" I answered.

I heard the door open and Edward come in.

"I'll be downstairs when you're done" he said before leaving.

"Ok….I'll be out in a minute" I said as I poked my head out of the shower. He walked over and placed a short kiss on my lips before walking out of the room.

I got out and changed into some dry clothes and then dried my hair a little bit. I walked down the stairs and to the kitchen to see if Esme needed any help with dinner.

"Do you need any help Esme?"

"No, honey…you go sit" she smiled as she shooed me out of the kitchen.

I walked to the living room and found Edward sitting by the fire just staring.

"Edward" I said. He didn't answer. He didn't even acknowledge the fact that I was there.

"Edward" I said a little louder. He still had no reaction so I just climbed into his lap. This time he turned to me and kissed my forehead.

"Are you ok?" I asked him quietly.

"Yeah, I'm just thinking" he smiled.

I just buried my head in his chest and curled up in his lap. He started to sing a Christmas carol softly and the baby started to kick. He placed his hand on my stomach without me telling him to and smiled.

"You just do that so you can make her kick, don't you" I shook my head laughing.

"Yes, yes I do" he bent and placed a kiss on my tummy. He jumped back up with a hand on his mouth.

"What" I asked.

"She kicked my mouth" he said with wide eyes.

I just started cracking up. His brothers and Jake walked into the room at that point and looked at me like I was crazy.

"What is so funny?" they asked me when they saw Edward's pout.

"Edward got denied by a baby!" I said through my giggles.

"What?" Riley asked.

"He kissed my tummy and she kicked him in the mouth" at this the others started laughing too.

"It's not funny" Edward pouted.

"Awww, do you need me to kiss it and make it better" I said in baby talk. I laughed when he nodded his head and kept pouting. I placed a kiss on his lips.

"All better!" he smiled. I just shook my head at his antics while Esme called us all in for dinner.

We sat around the table and all joined hands to say grace. Dinner was delicious, and we went back to the living room after we were done. I was sitting down on the couch and Jake was staring at the tree.

"Why are you staring at the tree?" Lily asked him.

"I just think I see a present under there" he said as he got up. He bent down and had a little box in his hands when he stood up.

"Hmm, Bella, I guess you forgot to open a present this morning…it says it's for you" he said while he scratched his head.

"Who's it from?" I asked him as I walked over to him.

"I guess it's from Santa….it doesn't say. It just has your name on it" he said as he handed me the box.

Sure enough, it had my name on it in handwriting I didn't recognize. I shrugged and started to untie the bow and open the box. The only content was a piece of paper with two words written on it.

_Turn Around_

I turned around and my eyes went wide. Edward was kneeling in front of me holding a diamond ring. He grabbed my hand as he started to talk.

"Bella, I know that we haven't even known each other a full year yet, but I already can't imagine my life without you. I want to fall asleep every night with you in my arms and wake up to your face every morning for the rest of my life. I want to have children with you; I want to grow old with you. I want to watch our great-great-grandkids from rocking chairs on our porch someday when we're 90. I love you, I always have and I always will. If you'll have me, I'd love to marry you" He said as he looked deep into my eyes.

By now my right hand had found its way up to cover my mouth and tears were falling out of my eyes. I didn't say anything for a minute and then just nodded my head.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Yes" I said. His smile turned into a grin as he scooped me up into his arms and started spinning me in circles. He finally put me down and grabbed my left hand. He slid off my promise ring and replaced it with the engagement ring. He reached around, undid my locket, and slipped my purity ring to where it hung on the chain. He pulled me in for a kiss before everyone started swarming us.

"Question- how many of you knew that he was going to do this?" I asked everyone in the room.

Every single person raised their hand except for Riley and Lily.

"Wow, Emmet knew and he didn't spill?" I joked.

"Hey! I resent that!" he pouted. I just poked his stomach and gave him a hug.

Jake pulled me into his arms again and kissed my forehead.

"How long have you known about this?" I asked him.

"He asked me for permission at Thanksgiving. He said since dad was out of the picture, he wanted to make sure it was ok with me. I immediately told him yes. Some people look forever for the one they were made for, and you just so happened to find yours on your first try. I couldn't have handpicked a better guy for you to end up with or a better family for you to marry into."

I smiled into his chest and squeezed my arms around him tighter.

"Can I steal my fiancé?" I heard Edward ask.

"Of course" Jake said as he kissed the top of my head.

Edward pulled me in to a kiss and we stayed like that until we felt tugs on our pant legs. We looked down to see Lily staring back at us with her big brown eyes.

"What's up shortcake"

"Does this mean you're going to be my uncle now?" she asked Edward.

Edward bent down to her level before speaking.

"It sure does buddy" he smiled at her.

"YAY!" she said as she jumped on him. She knocked him off balance and ended up knocking him over-landing on top of him.

We started laughing and only started laughing louder when Riley spoke…well, yelled.

"WAIT! THIS MEANS YOU'RE REALLY GOING TO BE MY SISTER?! AWESOME!" he yelled excitedly as he ran at me. He wrapped his arms around my legs and I bent down to give him an actual hug.

Lily and Riley went to bed soon after that and the rest of us were sitting around the fire. I took up my spot on Edward's lap in the recliner by the fire and lay my head on his chest. I placed my hand on his chest by my face and he brought his hand up to hold it.

He started playing with the newly placed engagement ring and I felt him smile into my forehead.

"I still can't believe you actually agreed to marry me"

"You didn't actually think I'd turn you down, did you?" I asked as I looked up at him.

"Well, I knew I wanted to marry you, but I didn't know if you'd want to get engaged right now because of the baby and everything."

"I've actually been meaning to talk to you about that. How would you feel if I put your name as the father on her birth certificate?" I asked him quietly.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Well, if we're getting married you'd just have to adopt her anyway. Why not skip the extra paperwork? YOU are going to be the man she knows as her father, she already kicks for you. I don't want James to have any claim over this child."

"I'd be honored" he smiled as he kissed me.

I jumped out of his lap and pulled his hand to follow me. I pulled him into the kitchen where everyone else was to tell them.

"We have an announcement that we'd like to make" I said as we entered.

"I have decided to put my name as the father on this little one's birth certificate. I would have to do extra paperwork to adopt her anyway, and this way she'll be born with my last name already and James will have no tie to her" Edward said before I could say anything.

We were met with a room full of grins and Esme came over to hug us.

"Wow Ed, you're going to have a kid without having sex….that's pretty amazing" Emmet joked. Jasper smacked him up beside the head as the rest of us laughed.

We said our goodnights and headed up to bed. We got changed and lay down in bed and cuddled up together.

"I love you Mr. Edward Cullen"

"I love you more future Mrs. Edward Cullen"

I smiled into his chest and I felt him smile into my hair.

* * *

**Yes, this is the chapter I've been plannin for well over half the story. I hope you guys enjoyed it. **

**Let me know your thoughts!**


	31. Chapter 31

The next morning I was met with a screaming Alice when I went down the stairs. She immediately grabbed my left hand and looked at the ring that was sitting on it.

"I can't believe he proposed! I want the details…now" She said pulling me behind her and back up the stairs. "Edward we're going to your room!"

Edward just started laughing and went to sit on the couch with Emmet,Jasper and Jake.

"How did he do it?" she asked me as soon as the door had been shut and she, Rosalie, and I were seated on the bed.

"Well, we opened all the presents yesterday morning and then went to play in the snow. We were outside most of the day and I went to take a shower. When I was finished I went into the kitchen to see if Esme needed help and she told me to just go sit. I walked over to Edward and he was just staring into space. I tried to get his attention but nothing worked so I just climbed onto his lap in the recliner. We had been sitting like that the previous night so I just sat back down. That got his attention and he kissed my forehead. He said he was just thinking about some stuff but wouldn't say anything else. We all went to eat dinner and after we were done, my brother was just staring at the tree and my niece asked him what he was looking at. He said that there was another present under it and walked over to pick it up. He said it was for me but it didn't say who it was from. I walked over to him and opened the box and all that was inside was a piece of paper that said to turn around. I turned around and there was Edward on one knee holding this ring. He even asked Jake for permission."

"That is amazingly adorable! Did he say anything?" Alice gushed.

"He said that he wanted to fall asleep with me in his arms and wake up to my face every morning for the rest of his life. He said he wants to have kids with me and grow old with me-that he wants to sit on our front porch in rocking chairs someday when we are ninety and watch our great-great grandkids play"

"Oh. My. GOD!" She screeched before running out the door and down the stairs. I followed her and saw her jumping on Edward.

"That was the most adorable thing ever! I can only hope that the way I'm proposed to in the future is as sweet as that" She said as she threw a glance at Jasper.

"Wow, thanks for that Edward. Now we have enormous shoes to fill because of you being the 'cute romantic one'" Jasper groaned.

We all just started laughing. Alice had just stopped by to see Jasper on her way to Angela's house so she hung out for a few hours and then left.

That night we hopped on the jet and flew to New York. The boys and I were all performing on New Year's Eve and we had decided to just go spend some time in New York City before then.

The next day the five of us went out shopping and then that night Edward took me out to dinner. This time, there were photographs taken of us and I immediately stuck my left hand in my coat pocket before anyone could get a glimpse of the ring on my finger. We weren't quite ready for the news of our engagement to be public.

He took me back to Rockefeller Center and we went skating. I couldn't do any fun tricks because of my belly, but we did just skate around some.

"I think that this will be my favorite place for a long time" Edward said as we skated holding hands.

"Really? Why?"

"Because it's where we started. It's where you agreed to date me, even after everything that happened. It's where I fell in love with you all over again"

I pulled him into a sweet kiss before shoving his head away and skating off. He tried to catch up but he was just no match for my speed.

"Come on Cullen! I'm six and a half months pregnant and you can't even catch me? That's just sad" I taunted him as I passed him.

"That's it" he yelled before speeding up. All of a sudden I felt two hands around my waist, and soon we were falling to the ground backwards. Edward landed on the ice and I landed on his chest with my back facing him.

"Great, Cullen. Now my legs are going to get all cold because I'm in a dress and I have to put my bare knees on the ice" I pouted.

I felt his grip get tighter as he sat up with me still in his lap. Somehow he managed to get up without me ever touching the ice. We laughed as we skated back to turn in our skates and head to the hotel.

The week passed with no one noticing the ring on my finger and it was now New Year's Eve. We were on our way to perform on Dick Clark's Rockin' New Year's Eve. I was bundled up-no dresses for me.

Later on, the boys had already sung and it was now my turn. I started into the "Let The Flames Begin" which was my new single and when I finished I was met by the boys offstage. We were supposed to watch the ball drop with Ryan Seacrest, so we headed over that direction.

There were still a few minutes until midnight so he was going to interview us. Edward and I had already talked about the fact that we knew Ryan would notice the ring, and had decided that if he mentioned it we'd be honest. It only seemed right that he be the interviewer we told-he was the one that we admitted we were dating to.

We walked over and said hello and waited for the show to be thrown back to him. He looked down at my hand right as the cameras started rolling.

"I'm here with the Cullens and Bella Swan. Happy New Year guys! Do you have any resolutions for the new year?" he asked still eyeing my ring-by now Edward had noticed him looking too.

"Well, my daughter is due in March so I definitely want to try to be the best mother I can be" I answered.

"I want to try to be half the person my older brother is" Emmet said as he gave Edward a nudge.

"I want to take everything as it comes and get the most out of life" Jasper said winking at me.

Edward was silent for a bit.

"Edward? Do you have anything to say?" Ryan looked at him and then to my ring. Edward looked at me and I nodded.

"I want to be the best husband and father I can be" he said looking into my eyes.

"I KNEW IT! That IS an engagement ring on your finger!" Ryan exclaimed.

"Yep" I said as the boys and I laughed.

"Wow, what a way to end the year. You heard it here first folks, Edward and Bella Swan are officially engaged" he said while looking at the camera.

Just then the final countdown started and we turned to watch the ball drop.

"10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1….HAPPY NEW YEAR!" we heard thousands of people yell.

As music started to play Edward pulled me in for our first kiss of the New Year.

"I love you" I whispered against his lips. I felt him smile and I pulled away. I went and kissed Emmet and Jasper on their cheeks so they could have a New Year's kiss. They kissed my forehead in exchange and I walked back over to Edward and leaned into our embrace.

We went and found the rest of our group to celebrate the New Year. We toasted the New Year and enjoyed the aftermath of New Year's in Times Square.

That night as Edward and I headed back to the room I was really thinking hard about how soon the baby was going to be here.

I hopped into the shower and I heard the door open.

"Are you ok? You seemed kind of quiet after the toast and on the way back here" I heard him say. I poked my head out and saw him sitting on the counter.

"I guess I'm just realizing that the baby is going to be here soon and I haven't planned anything. I haven't picked out a name, I haven't gotten anything for her, I haven't started the nursery. And now I have wedding plans to do too. It's all just really overwhelming." I said from behind the shower curtain and the tears started flowing.

Before I knew it I felt two arms wrapping around my waist and a body pressing up against my back. I looked behind me to see Edward standing behind me-fully clothed

"Edward, what are you doing" I asked.

"I'm calming you down" he said and I heard him squeeze shampoo into his hands.

A few seconds later he started massaging my scalp and I instantly was relaxing.

His hands stopped moving and just lay tangled in my hair for a minute. He pulled them out and turned me around to wash the shampoo out of my hair and when he was done he left his hand in my now clean hair and lifted my head up. He pulled me to him and I cuddled into his chest as best I could. He started rubbing little circles on my back.

"Honey, it's going to be ok. We can talk about baby names whenever you want to. As far as the wedding goes, all you need to worry about right now is getting this baby here safe and sound-THEN we can worry about the wedding. I'm not in any hurry" he whispered into my hair.

He held me for a bit longer before I heard the water being shut off. He grabbed a towel and started to dry my hair. He then moved the towel down and started to dry me off. He wrapped the towel around me and we stepped out of the shower. I grabbed my clothes off of the counter and walked to the bedroom to change into them.

I changed and started to dry my hair further with the towel while Edward got dried off and changed.

I lay down in the bed and he soon joined me.

"Brooklyn Esme" I said softly after a few minutes of silence.

I felt him smile into my hair.

"I love it. It's perfect" He said as he moved down to my tummy.

"It's only a few more months until we can meet you Brooklyn, I love you" he said before kissing my tummy.

The next morning we flew back to LA. We decided to keep Brooklyn's name a secret so it would be a surprise.

I knew the next few months were going to fly by and that she would be here before I knew it.

* * *

**Hope you liked it! The baby has a name and the engagement is out in the open!**

**Review? Please...they make me happy!**

**Hey,I have new story can you all read and let me know what you think? :)**


	32. Chapter 32

It was now nearing the end of February and the last two months had been crazy.

The boys had been on Ellen right after we announced it on New Year's Eve and Edward had been asked about it. I still remember how she segued into it too.

_**Flashback  
**__"Please welcome the Cullens!" She screamed and the audience went boys went onto the stage and immediately started ducking because Ellen pulled out the marshmallow bow and arrows that I gave to her when I was on and started shooting them. They started throwing them back at her and she shot until she ran out of mallows. She gave them all hugs and they were laughing as they sat down."It's great to have you guys back, how are you guys doing?" she asked them."Well, it's great to be back. That was quite a welcome" Edward laughed."Yeah, well you can thank your girlfriend for that one….or should I say fiancé?" She grinned as she nudged Edward."I guess you could call her that, yes" he smiled. "Well congratulations! I guess that means you're technically going to be a father too, huh?" she asked."Yeah, actually. We've talked about it and in order to keep her biological father from having legal ties to her I'm going to put my name on her birth certificate. We figured that I'd have to adopt her after the wedding anyway, so why not just do it when she's born?""That's cool. Do you guys have a name yet?""We do have a name, but no one knows what it is except us….it's a surprise" he said with a sly smile. "Well, tell Bella that I want to meet this kid when she's born" "Will do"  
__**End Flashback**_

After that, the boys continued to talk about other things and their music. Since then the news of mine and Edward's engagement had blown up and everywhere we turned we saw our faces plastered on magazines with pictures of us shopping for the baby.

I was so excited for the baby to be here, and there was only about two weeks left. Edward and I had already packed a bag in case she came early though. We wanted to be ready for anything. The crib and everything had been set up. We didn't want to paint the room or anything, though because we still didn't know when we were getting married and we'd be moving out after that.

Jake and Lily had flown up and were staying with us so they could be here for the birth. That night had been really fun-we just sat around and played games like Taboo, Charades, and Pictionary. I was having a blast but I was getting really tired. I leaned my head on Edward's shoulder as I yawned.

"I think I'm going to go to bed" I said tiredly as I rubbed my eyes.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Edward asked me as he kissed my forehead.

"No, it's still early. You stay down here and keep playing" I gave him a kiss before I stood up.

I slowly walked up the stairs and changed into sweats and a T-Shirt and lay down in bed. I looked at the clock and saw that it was only 7:30. I yawned and buried my face into the pillow and nodded off to sleep.

I awoke to a pain in my stomach and looked at the clock to see it was only 8:15. Edward wasn't in here and I could still hear noise from downstairs. The pain in my stomach got worse and I called out for Edward. I waited a few minutes and he hadn't come. I called out again a little louder and he still couldn't hear me because of the noise.

I stood up to walk to the stairs and almost doubled over from the pain. All of a sudden I felt like I peed my pants.

"EDWARD!" I screamed. Still no answer. I reached over and picked up my cell phone and quickly typed a text message to his phone.

**(Edward POV)**

I fought the urge to go upstairs with Bella. She was getting so close to her due date, I had taken to not really letting her out of my sight. But I figured if she needed me she could scream.

About 30 minutes after she left, I went upstairs to check on her and she was sleeping peacefully. She looked like an angel with her blonde hair spread out on the pillow.

I walked back down and joined back in on the noisy games and told myself that I'd go check on her again in 30 minutes.

15 minutes later, my phone went off to signal that I had gotten a text message.

"Who's it from?"Emmet asked as I opened the text message.

_I think my water broke_

"Oh my God" I said as I took off running up the stairs. I ran to my room and saw Bella sitting on the bed clutching her stomach. I immediately ran to her side and started trying to get her through her contraction.

"Edward, what's- oh my god" I heard Emmet say from the doorway. I looked up to see Emmet,Jasper and Jake standing in the door.

"Emmet, I need you to grab the bag from closet. Jasper, make sure we have a camera. Jake, go warn my parents, please?" I said as I walked over to my drawer and grabbed another pair of sweats. After the three of them were gone I gently and quickly changed Bella into another pair of sweats. I knew it was a little chilly outside so I pulled a hoody over her head before gently scooping her up in my arms.

"I can walk, you know" Bella giggled from my arms.

"Not taking any risks" I said as I started to walk out of the room. I walked down the stairs to see everyone standing by the door.

"We're just waiting on Big Steve to get here-he's about five minutes away" my dad said.

I walked over to the couch and sat down with Bella on my lap and started to rub circles on her lower back.

"When was your last contraction, honey" my mom asked Bella as she walked over.

"About 7 minutes ago" she answered.

A few minutes later my dad's cell phone went off and we all piled out of the house to get into the SUV. Not all of us could fit so I carried Bella over to my Volvo and Jake and Lily followed us.

I peeled out and headed towards the hospital-not really caring if the other car was close behind me or not.

I sped up slightly as Bella kicked into another contraction next to me. I reached my hand over and she immediately grabbed it. We pulled into the hospital as her contraction ended. I pulled into a parking place and ran around the car. I opened her door and picked her up. I closed the door behind me and locked the car. I started running to the entrance to the hospital and I saw the SUV pull up as we reached the door.

"I'll wait for them…just go" Jake said.

I ran up to the desk to get her checked in.

"She's having a baby" I said once I got there.

The nurse looked up and her eyes got wide as she realized who we were.

"Let me go get a wheelchair" she said quickly as she stood up and walked off.

The others finally caught up with us while we waited on the wheelchair.

The nurse came back and I set Bella down in the chair and the nurse started wheeling her to the elevator as she was throwing questions at us.

"How far apart are your contractions?" she asked.

"About 20 minutes" Bella answered.

We all piled into the elevator and rode up to the labor and delivery floor and once we got out we walked to the nurse's station there.

"Sheila here will get you the paperwork and get you checked in, ok?" we nodded and thanked the nurse as she walked back to the elevator.

"Ok, I'm going to need you to fill these out while we go get her in a room and settled in ok? You guys can wait in the waiting room until I come and get you" Sheila said as she handed me some paperwork and came around to push Bella away.

"I'll be in soon, ok?" I whispered as I kissed Bella's forehead. Everyone told her goodbye and I watched her be wheeled away from us.

We walked to the waiting room and I started filling out the paperwork to check her in with the help of Jake.

About 15 minutes later, Sheila walked in and told us we could go see her and that she was in room 406. We all got up and walked into her room. She was lying in the bed hooked up to a few machines. I walked over to her and started placing kisses on her face.

"How are you doing, baby girl" I asked her.

"I'm ok…ready to get this girl out" she smiled.

Sheila walked in and told us that they needed to check her progress. Everyone came over and kissed Bella's forehead one by one before leaving.

"I'll be in the waiting room if you need me, ok?" I heard Jake say. She simply nodded.

Dr. Heighl walked in as the others were leaving.

"Are we ready to have a baby today, Bella?" she smiled.

"Yes, more than you know" Bella laughed.

**(Bella POV)**

"Let's check your progress then, shall we?" Dr. Heighl said.

I moved my feet into the stirrups as she pulled on a pair of gloves.

"Well, it looks like you are about 5 centimeters dilated. How far apart are your contractions?"

"About 20 minutes" I answered.

"Well, you've still got a ways to go, but hang in there" she said as she pulled off her gloves.

Edward sat down in the chair next to my bed and put an ice chip in my mouth.

I grabbed his hand as a contraction hit and started squeezing. It hurt so much, I don't even have the words to explain it.

"Come on baby, you're doing great. It's almost over…just breathe" Edward said soothingly as he wiped the hair from my forehead.

I loosened my grip on his hand as the contraction passed.

_**SEVERAL hours later  
**_I'm sure that Edward was tired. He'd been by my side nonstop since we arrived and it was now really, really late.

My contractions were now about 5 minutes apart and at the last check I was 9 centimeters.

"Let's see how you're doing" Sheila said as she pulled on a pair of gloves.

"Well, it looks like we are ready to go. I'll go get Dr. Heighl" she smiled as she left the room.

I saw Edward pull out his phone and type a quick message. He was putting his phone in his pocket as Dr. Heighl was walking in.

"Ok you guys, let's get this show on the road. Bella, the next contraction that you have I'm going to need you to push, ok?"

I nodded and got ready. I felt it coming on and grabbed Edward's hand. I was scared and I needed him there.

"I'm scared" I whispered.

"I'm right here, baby. I'm not going anywhere" he whispered. He kissed my forehead as my contraction hit.

"Ok Bella, push!"

I started pushing as she started counting down from ten. When she finished she told me to breathe. I took a few deep breaths before she told me to push again.

I'm sure Edward was losing feeling in his hand but I was in a shit load of pain.

"You are NEVER touching me after the wedding Edward Cullen" I gritted through my teeth before starting to push again.

"I can see the head!" I heard the doctor say after she reached one. Edward peeked over the sheet and kissed my forehead.

"She's almost here baby, you can do it"

"Just a few more pushes Bella!"

I pushed again and after I finished I stopped to take a few deep breaths.

"One more push, all we need is one…she's almost out"

"I can't do it, Edward. I can't do it" I cried.

"Yes you can. One more push and our baby girl will be here"

I took a deep breath and pushed. All of a sudden the sound of a baby crying filled the room. I couldn't help it, I started crying.

"It's a girl!" Dr. Heighl said as she held the baby up. "You want to cut the cord?" she asked Edward.

He smiled, kissed my forehead, grabbed the camera and went. They got a picture of him cutting the cord and then he took pictures of them weighing her and everything.

They wrapped her up in a blanket and handed her to Edward. He smiled at her and walked over to me and sat next to me on the bed. He handed her to me and I immediately kissed her forehead.

"Welcome to the world Brooklyn Esme Cullen" I said through my tears. One of the nurses picked up the camera and took our first ever family picture.

"You've never looked so beautiful" Edward said.

"You must be blind. I'm sweaty and my hair's a mess" I said as I rolled my eyes.

"You just did something amazing, Bella. I have never been more in love with you than I am in this instant" He said before giving me a kiss.

Just then our baby girl opened her eyes and started to look at us.

"Hi baby girl, I'm your mommy and that's your daddy. We already love you so much and I promise that we are going to take such good care of you" I told my daughter.

I looked over at Edward and there were tears in his eyes.

"She looks exactly like you, right down to her eyes" he said softly. Thank God for that, James doesn't deserve to have her look like him.

There was a knock on the door and I saw everybody peek their heads around the corner.

"You can come in, you know" I said jokingly.

They all walked in and stood around the bed.

"So what's her name?" Riley asked.

"Guys, I want you to meet Brooklyn Esme Cullen" I said as I looked up. I looked over at Esme to see tears falling from her eyes.

"You named her after me?" Esme said quietly as she walked over.

"Of course we did. You have been so amazing to me this past year and that means a lot to me. Lily already was named after my mom, and you are like my second mother."

"Thank you honey" She said as she kissed my forehead.

"Do you want to hold your granddaughter?" I asked her.

She grinned as I handed her over. Edward grabbed the camera and started taking photos. After a few minutes she handed her to Jake.

"Hi Brooke, I'm your Uncle Jake. You're a very lucky little girl, do you know that? Your mommy and daddy are going to take such good care of you" he said as he rocked her in his arms. He handed her to Emmet.

"Hey Brookie Cookie" I couldn't help but chuckle at the nickname. "I'm your Uncle Emmy and we're going to be best buddies. Nobody is ever going to bother you while I'm around-you can count on that, and you can always come to me when you need a laugh, ok? Don't forget that" he said as he passed her to Jasper.

"Hey munchkin, I'm your Uncle Jasper. I'm so happy that we finally get to meet you. You're beautiful, just like your mother. I can already tell that we are going to have to try really hard to keep the boys away from you" he chuckled.

Everyone else held her as well-even little Riley and Lily (sitting on the couch and with the help of an adult, of course). We got lots of pictures of everybody holding her and some of everyone with the baby. But I noticed someone was missing.

"Where's Big Steve?" I asked.

"He's outside the door. He said he didn't know if you wanted him in here or not" Emmet said.

"Tell him to get in here" I smiled.

Emmet walked to the door and a few seconds later I saw Big Steve's head peek around the corner.

"Get over here you big lug" I smiled.

He grinned and started to walk over to the bed.

"Is this my newest client?" he smiled.

"Yep, this is Brooklyn Esme Cullen" I smiled.

He looked at her in silence for a little bit.

"Do you want to hold her?" I asked him. He nodded his head and held out his arms. I handed her to him and it was by far the cutest thing I've seen. Such a big guy holding such a little baby-we made SURE to get pictures of that one considering the fact that she didn't even take up his whole arm.

Everyone eventually went home except for Jake and Edward and I fell asleep after they took Brooklyn back to the nursery to give her a bath and everything.

I woke up about an hour later to voices but I kept my eyes closed when I heard my name come up in conversation.

"So how'd she do?" I heard Jake ask.

"She was so great, Jake. She did it without drugs or anything. I have never been more in love with her and it wasn't even my child she was delivering"

"See, that is where you are wrong. You might not be her biological father, but it takes a lot more than blood to make you a father. Look at our dad…Rosalie's dad has always been just as much of a father to Bella as our dad was. In the past three years, he's been MORE of one."

"I know. I just hope I get the chance to have children with her today, though" Edward sounded dejected.

"What?"

"When she was delivering the baby she said that I'm not touching her after the wedding" he said sadly.

Jake just started laughing.

"I really don't find that funny" Edward said seriously.

"Edward, every woman says that in labor. She didn't really mean it"

"Oh"

"Don't worry, your wedding night is still safe"

I couldn't help but start laughing at that. I opened my eyes to see Edward with a slight blush.

"Oh God, how much of that did you hear?" he asked me.

"Enough to know that you were afraid I would never let you touch me" I giggled. I started full out laughing when his face went beet red.

"Shut up" he said quietly as he looked at the ground.

That day when I knew Ellen would be taping her show, I picked up the phone and called her. I put her on speakerphone so Edward could talk also.

"Hey, who do we have on the line here?" I heard her ask.

"This is Bella Swan and I just wanted to call and let you know that Brooklyn Esme Cullen was born this morning at 7:30 AM" I said happily into the phone.

"Oh my gosh! Congratulations!" she said.

"Thank you! You're the first to know outside our family" Edward said.

"Wow, I'm honored you guys. Well, you'll have to bring her by and let me meet her"

"We'll do that very soon, I promise"

"Ok, I'm going to hold you to that…tell your brothers I said hello, Edward. Bye!"

We hung the phone up laughing.

I couldn't wait to take Brooklyn home and start the next chapter of my life.

* * *

**Brooklyn's birthday is February 26 :D**

**Next chapter is Epilogue… review? **


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